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Download AudioAnother $140 million has been made available for Māori and Pasifika providers to support their communities through the Omicron wave.
The support announced this morning at Ngā Whare Waatea Marae in Mangere is in addition to last week’s Care in the Community boost to help families who need to self-isolate.
Minister for Whānau Ora and Associate Minister of Health Peeni Henare says it will enable Māori health providers to scale up their efforts and support the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agencies to get resources to the people most in need.
It also includes another $40 million for the Māori Communities COVID-19 Fund administered by Te Puni Kōkiri with Te Arawhiti, to enable communities and particularly iwi to mobilise their own approaches and build resilience.
“Omicron is likely to disproportionately affect Māori and Pacific communities, and we don’t want Māori or Pacific whānau falling through the cracks,” Mr Henare says.
The package also includes $1.75 million for the Karawhiua Māori vaccination campaign informing Māori communities about COVID-19 and $18 million for the Pacific Aotearoa Community Outreach Initiative to support Pacific communities to prepare, respond and recover from the social and health impacts from Omicron.
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