23 Dec 2019

Lab made from containers set up in Tonga

From , 6:02 am on 23 December 2019

A new environmental health laboratory made from shipping containers has been installed in Tonga.

At a cost of about $US300,000, the lab was funded by the New Zealand Aid Programme and delivered by Tonga's Ministry of health and New Zealand's Institute of Environmental Science and Research. 

Project leader Matt Ashworth says among its uses the lab can test the safety of drinking water and mosquitoes for diseases.

He told Ben Robinson Drawbridge that Tongan staff are being trained to use it.

Tonga's new environmental health laboratory.

The opening of the new environmental health laboratory in Tonga. Photo: ESR