September 06, 2012
Geographic targeting needed for children
A former children’s commissioner says special strategies need to be developed for the country’s most deprived neighborhoods to address Maori and Pasifika child poverty.
Massey University academic Dr Cindy Kiro told the Public Health Association’s annual conference that Maori and Pasifika families tend to live in high need suburbs with poor infrastructure.
She says it all leads to higher risk of family violence, poor health, and low social and educational outcomes.
Dr Kiro says targeted investment in early childhood education and childcare, low cost primary health care, and a focus on employment for the parents would have major benefits for the whole of the society.
She says many Maori also need to be reconnected with traditional cultural values.