Tonga’s long-awaited dialysis centre has reached a key milestone with the completion of its foundation, signalling the official start of construction.
The project, first announced with a groundbreaking ceremony in 2023, was initially slated for completion by April 2023 but faced delays.
The recent progress follows Kaniva News’ earlier report about the arrival of 10 state-of-the-art dialysis machines, a critical step toward establishing Tonga’s first free dialysis clinic.
Photos and videos shared this week reveal workers actively preparing the site at Veitongo, reigniting hope for improved healthcare access for kidney patients.
As we reported in August last year, Tonga has begun construction of the kingdom’s first dialysis centre, with a groundbreaking ceremony staged at the time to mark the occasion at Veitongo.
The former Minister of Health, Saia Piukala said during that ceremony that the centre is named after Siaosi Brown, a Tongan man who died while hiking Bell’s Canyon, US in June 2017.
Siaosi was Rod Emam’s best friend. Emam’s father and uncle donated and funded the centre.
Tonga did not have a dialysis centre, which forced people who suffered from diabetes and renal failure to travel to overseas countries, including New Zealand, Australia and the US, for treatment.
