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February 02, 2022
Māori experts left out of Ministry Covid plan
Adam Gifford
Posted On February 2, 2022
Download AudioThe co-chair of Māori pandemic response group Te Rōpū Whakakaupapa Urutā says it’s getting the cold shoulder from health officials.
Dr Rawiri Jansen says Urutā is continuing to meet and develop strategies to keep Māori safe from what it expects will be several waves of Omicron cases through the first half of the year.
But that Māori expertise isn’t wanted by the ministry, despite claims by Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield and ministers they are in regular discussion with Māori.
“They use a variety of different words but it isn’t with Te Rōpū Whakakaupapa Urutā. We met with the deputy Director-General once, twice maybe last year, in the whole of the year. We’re not having direct discussions with ministers or with health officials so I think they are ramping up a conversation that suggests they are engaged with Māori but I’m underwhelmed by their reach out and their involvement of Māori expertise in the planning,” Dr Jansen says.
He says while there is high vaccination cover for some Māori age groups, up to 20 per cent of the adult Māori population is still not fully vaccinated and there are significant gaps in vaccinating tamariki.
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