The main focus of the ASA Overseas Development and Education Committee (ODEC) is to support and promote anaesthesia training in the Pacific. Over 75% of the substantial ODEC budget goes towards Pacific anaesthesia and this support has seen significant achievements.
A major problem for anaesthetists in the Pacific is the lack of contact with colleagues because of chronic staff shortages and the huge distances between Pacific countries.
Currently the ASA provides one or two scholarships, in the form of funding, for a young Australian anaesthetist to spend up to 3 months at the Fiji School of Medicine in Suva.
East Timor, one of our nearest neighbours, is a small country that has emerged from a period of enormous destruction in 1999.
Within Mongolia, anaesthetic facilities, as in all areas of health and education, are limited.