Reimbursed Care Access in Vanuatu

Currently classified as a strictly controlled substance under national drug scheduling laws, with no authorized medical use outside of approved clinical research. The Vanuatu Dangerous Drugs Act (Cap. 12) and related enforcement guidance treat unauthorised importation, possession and supply of dangerous drugs as criminal offences; there is no public reimbursement pathway for psilocybin therapies. # #

Currently classified as a strictly controlled substance under national drug scheduling laws, with no authorized medical use outside of approved clinical research. There is no regulatory framework, licensing pathway, or public reimbursement for MDMA‑assisted therapy in Vanuatu. # #

There is no publicly available evidence of national regulatory authorisation or a reimbursement pathway in Vanuatu for esketamine (Spravato). Vanuatu’s medicines and import controls are administered through Ministry of Health / Pharmaceutical Services processes and Customs controls; specialised CNS agents such as intranasal esketamine typically require registration and specific import/marketing authorisation which are not documented in the public Vanuatu resources consulted. Esketamine therefore is not a reimbursed therapy in Vanuatu and access would require a registered product, an import permit and an authorised prescriber or participation in an authorised clinical programme — none of which are publicly documented at the national level. For context, ketamine (the racemate) is on the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines as an injectable anaesthetic, but that international inclusion does not imply local esketamine registration. # # #

Ketamine (racemic ketamine) is recognised internationally as an essential injectable anaesthetic and analgesic and is used in clinical settings across low‑ and middle‑income health systems; WHO’s Model List of Essential Medicines lists ketamine as an injectable anaesthetic. #

In Vanuatu the national legal framework for controlled substances is the Dangerous Drugs Act (Cap. 12), enforced by police and customs authorities; the Act and enforcement guidance are used to regulate importation, possession and supply of listed dangerous drugs and to require permits for legitimate medical or research importation. Vanuatu’s Customs and Police materials specifically cite the Dangerous Drugs Act as the legal basis for prohibiting unauthorised imports and for enforcement operations. Publicly available government materials (Customs; Vanuatu Police Force) show that illicit drug importation, possession and sale are subject to criminal enforcement, and that medicines and “dangerous drugs” are managed through permit/registration pathways for legitimate medical use. # # #

Operational reality: Ketamine is widely used globally for anaesthesia/analgesia especially where access to more complex general anaesthesia is limited; in Vanuatu ketamine is the type of medicine that would be imported and used within hospitals and district health facilities under pharmaceutical services and hospital formularies, and is treated as a legitimate controlled medicine when supplied for clinical use. However, there is no documented public programme or national reimbursement mechanism that supports ketamine use for psychedelic‑assisted psychotherapy or for off‑label psychiatry indications in Vanuatu; any use of ketamine outside standard anaesthesia/analgesia would require clinician oversight, local regulatory/ethical approval, and (if imported) permits from pharmaceutical/Customs authorities. #

Regional/practical note: Access for medical ketamine (for anaesthesia/analgesia) is clinical and facility‑based; private purchase or out‑of‑country prescriptions may be possible under import/permit rules for individual patients and clinicians, but there is no public evidence of a reimbursed, government‑funded psychiatric ketamine programme in Vanuatu. #

Currently classified as a strictly controlled substance under national drug scheduling laws, with no authorized medical use outside of approved clinical research. Although DMT occurs naturally in some plant preparations (e.g., ayahuasca), Vanuatu law treats unauthorised importation/possession/supply of DMT and related 'dangerous drugs' as criminal offences; there is no published regulatory framework or reimbursement pathway for DMT therapies. # #

Currently classified as a strictly controlled substance under national drug scheduling laws, with no authorized medical use outside of approved clinical research. No authorised clinical or reimbursed access pathway exists in Vanuatu for 5‑MeO‑DMT. #

Currently classified as a strictly controlled substance under national drug scheduling laws, with no authorized medical use outside of approved clinical research. There is no documented legal medical framework or reimbursement pathway for ibogaine in Vanuatu. #

Because ayahuasca contains DMT (a scheduled compound) and Vanuatu’s Dangerous Drugs Act governs prohibited substances and their importation, ayahuasca is not an authorised, reimbursed medical treatment in Vanuatu and possession/import would be subject to the Dangerous Drugs Act unless specifically authorised for research. There is no public legal pathway for ritual or therapeutic ayahuasca use documented in national materials. # #

Currently classified as a strictly controlled substance under national drug scheduling laws, with no authorized medical use outside of approved clinical research. Mescaline (and mescaline‑containing cacti preparations) would be treated as a dangerous drug for importation/possession/supply under Vanuatu law; no reimbursement or clinical programme exists. #

Currently classified as a strictly controlled substance family under national drug scheduling laws (covered by broad 'dangerous drugs' provisions), with no authorized medical use outside of approved clinical research. There is no publicised legal medical framework or reimbursement pathway in Vanuatu for 2C‑series compounds. #