Oh, my Vanuatu: Health Care

NOTE: There was a popular string-band song in Vanuatu when we first moved here that repeated the line “Oh my, Vanuatu” several times. It was usually played in the arrivals lounge of the airport. Over the years, our team adopted the saying, reciting it tongue-in-cheek whenever we experienced something that could happen“only in Vanuatu.” I thought I’d start sharing some of those funny/frustrating stories this year…

My last OMV post reminded me of another Hospital experience. Some of you have heard it already, because we tell the story whenever someone asks me about the health care conditions in Vanuatu.

As a part of the adoption application process, Shawnda and I had to have medical certificates from the hospital. After taking my vitals and completing the eye chart, the nurse handed me a coffee mug and pointed me to the bathroom. I filled the mug, walked back through the waiting room (very awkward, I must say), where the attendant put a few drops of liquid into my sample. It passed the test, he dumped the contents into the sink, sloshed some water in it, and turned it upside down beside the sink for the next patient.

And that, my friends, is this week’s “oh my, Vanuatu” moment ;)