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The National Hauora Coalition says a $12 million Budget investment towards preventing rheumatic fever is being put in the right place.
The money is to support programmes to reduce the incidence of rheumatic fever among Māori and Pacific people, focused on the Auckland region.
The previous Government ended funding for rheumatic fever prevention in 2017, but coalition chair Dr Rawiri Jansen says the epidemic was not over.
Cases are on the rise again, driven largely by the impact of the housing crisis, so families need to change the way they live.
"So we've got to get smart about how we reach those communities with messages that create the kind of change we need. How are we managing crowding, because housing is a really big issue, so let's make sure our communities have the right information and our messages are resonating with them so they can manage that complexity in their lives," Dr jansen says.
The National Hauora Coalition runs Mana Kidz, a nurse-led programme for tamariki across 88 South Auckland primary and intermediate schools that last year reached more than 34,000 children offering free sore throat checks and other health services.
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