The Greatest Need.
The Greatest Reward.

Welcome to Pacific Islands Medical Aid

We help save lives and reduce pain and suffering in some of the poorest island nations in the Pacific region

Medical Aid

With a modest donation, we’re able to purchase urgently needed medicines and supplies at a fraction of their retail price.

For a little more, we are able to send volunteer doctors to regions where there are none, and specialist physicians to perform critical life-saving surgeries.

LEARN ABOUT MEDICAL AID

Communications

PIMA has installed high frequency radio systems which now enable nurses on outer islands in Kiribati to speak with a doctor on the main island.

More help is needed to upgrade the system’s reliability, which is critical in cases of medical emergencies on the isolated outer islands, where there is no doctor.

LEARN ABOUT COMMUNICATIONS

Transportation

Planes and small boats must be used to reach some of the most remote of Kiribati’s islands, where government supply ships seldom call.

Help us pay for emergency evacuation for patients on outer islands.

LEARN ABOUT TRANSPORTATION

Diabetes Program Underway To Prevent Threats to Life

February 12, 2019

With more than 30 percent of adults in the Line Islands of Kiribati…

A World of Help: Little 6 year-old Raebine Tibweana gets a world of help at Shriners Hospital for Children in Honolulu after being diagnosed on Christmas Island in Kiribati with both her left and right hips dislocated, plus dystonia. Attending Raebine are, from left, nurse Cherlyn Caneda, Raebine's mom, Shriners Chief of Staff Dr. Craig Ono, and PIMA volunteer translator Kaitibo Timon.

Another Shriners Miracle

January 9, 2019

Little six-year-old Raebine Tibweana has just returned home to…

Training Begins: Our Diabetes Program leader, Diabetologist Dr. Elizabeth Beale from the University of Southern California, ( at right ) begins nurse training on Christmas Island (Kiritimati) in the hopes of beginning to reduce the disease of epidemic proportions there, where more than 30 per cent of adults suffer with Type 2 diabetes.

New Diabetes Program To Hit Devastating Island Epidemic

January 9, 2019

By Dr. Elizabeth Beale, M.D., MRCP We are pleased to…

Volunteer on Tarawa: OB/GYN Dr. Maria Teaiwa-Rutherford, at far left, has now returned home after volunteering for two weeks at the small government hospital on Tarawa in Kiribati. With her are staff members at the hospital.

Volunteer OB/GYN Helps on Tarawa; Observations Aim to Help Outcomes

December 11, 2018

One of our most highly regarded ob/gyns has returned home to…

Blind Islanders Can See Again; Team Performs 48 Surgeries

December 11, 2018

Few things are as rewarding as watching the joy on a cataract…

Iakobwa in wheelchair at airport heading home after more than a year at Shriners Hospital for Children in Honolulu.

Iakobwa Now Learns to Walk; Shriners Brings About Miracle

October 1, 2018

Iakobwa Kabong could only walk on his knees and shuffle around…

Celebrating Successful Mission: This incredible and talented group of PIMA Heart Team volunteers celebrate the completion of their week-long mission to identify and treat heart disease in the Line Islands of Kiribati in the central Pacific, where 177 patients were examined, 176 echos done and nine patients scheduled for life-saving heart surgery back in the U.S. in October. At left is cardiac sonographer Michael Rampoldi of Baylor Scott White Heart Hospital in Plano, Texas. Third from left is Ms.Sherry Swanson, manager of comprehensive care management at the heart hospital. Team leader, cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. David Moore, M.D. and his wife Amy are in the middle.

PIMA Heart Team Sees 177; Nine Require Cardiac Surgery

October 1, 2018

Our intrepid heart team has returned home after seeing 177 patients…

Transport to Outer Islands: Our PIMA eye team is preparing to fly to the next small, isolated island of Teraina the Central Pacific . There are no doctors on the outer islands. Patients found to be needing eye surgery will be sent by boat to Christmas Island for surgery at the small hospital there. Surgeries will be performed by our eye surgery team, led by Drs. Paul Jorizzo and Paul Imperia from Medford, Oregon.

Diabetes Attack Team Plans Twice Yearly Expeditions

May 13, 2018

Plans are now nearing completion for a comprehensive campaign…

Advance Eye Team: Flanking Dr. Jack Mason ( second from left ) and Dr. Larry Falk are Kiribati biomedical officer Taaren, at left, and nurse Iokabwa, who helped with patients and distributed hundreds of pairs of eyeglasses. Both Taaren and Iokabwa serve at the small Ronton Hospital on Christmas Island, where eye surgeries will take place this summer.

Intrepid Volunteer Physicians Venture To Aid Eye Patients