Palau

Peace Winds brings health screenings, medical training, and community education to Palau’s remote islands through the Kensing II, helping build sustainable health care for everyone.

The Republic of Palau is a small but strategically located Pacific nation of more than 340 islands with a population of roughly 18,000 people. It faces severe health care challenges, including a chronic shortage of health care workers, particularly specialists. About half of its residents live in rural areas or on remote islands, where even primary health care is limited or unavailable. 

The limitations of the health care system are made even more consequential by the fact that Palau faces an “NCD crisis”– the prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes and hypertension is unusually high and responsible for the vast majority of the country’s deaths. This is driven, in part, by poor dietary practices, as the country’s remote location drives up the cost of fresh food and puts healthy meals out of reach for many families. Plus, nearly 25% of the population lives in poverty, making it difficult for residents to obtain the resources needed to prevent, detect, or treat chronic conditions like NCDs.

Peace Winds has taken a number of steps to help strengthen health care and health conditions in Palau, including deploying and subsidizing doctors, nurses, and technicians to help shore up the health care system, organizing NCD initiatives, and helping provide health care in the country’s most remote islands.

Peace Winds began working in Palau in 2022 when we outfitted, staffed, and stocked a former cargo ship with medical supplies. The Kensing (rhymes with the Japanese word for “checkup”) was then equipped for both basic health checks as well as in-depth blood tests, ultrasounds, and other screening. This allowed healthcare workers and the ship’s crew to bring health screenings to hundreds of residents living on several of Palau’s islands, including some of its most remote ones. Working alongside local doctors, health centers, and the Palau Ministry of Health, Peace Winds has provided essential screenings to people who might otherwise go without. 

We have also deployed doctors and other medical professionals to work at Palau’s Belau National Hospital on a rotating basis to help ease staffing shortages. This includes a radiology technician who trains local health care workers  how to assess patients using MRI scans, CT scans, and X-ray imaging. This is a critical need in Palau. Although the hospital has the equipment for these, some from overseas donors, the country does not have technicians who specialize in diagnostic imaging. This makes it more likely for patients to be given the wrong type of scan for their condition, increasing the risk they can receive the wrong diagnosis and treatment.

Beyond health screenings, Peace Winds also helps community members live healthier lives and manage NCDs through educational activities and events for both adults and children. We continue to partner with Palau’s national and local governments to strengthen healthcare and make it more accessible to everyone.  

To follow our ongoing work in Palau, please read our latest blog posts or check out the Peace Winds Palau Facebook page. 

Our Impact

• More than 5% of the country’s population have received health screenings at Peace Winds events, and more than 3,700 residents have been reached through health education programming. 
• Peace Winds has deployed health care providers, such as an ER physician, radiology technician, and an ICU nurse on long-term assignments and offered training to expand capabilities at Belau National Hospital, the only hospital in Palau.
• With its 131-foot hull and onboard crane, Kensing II has transported 10 tons of construction materials, rescued grounded vessels, supported research activities, and aided emergency response across the islands. It also supported an ecosystem restoration project led by Island Conservation, an international nonprofit working to protect and restore island ecosystems worldwide. 
• In 2026, Peace Winds piloted a community gardening initiative in three states to make fruits and vegetables more accessible and introduce cooking, food science, and nutrition classes in the schools.