March 14, 2023
Cost of living adds to cyclone crisis
The Hastings-based chief executive of Nga Maia Maori Midwives Aotearoa says there’s a sense of desperation in Kahungunu three weeks after Cyclone Gabrielle ripped through.
Jean Te Huia says midwives are still facing difficulties be getting through to mothers because of closed or heavily-congested roads.
Young whanau have also been hit by the cost of living crisis, which she sees whenever she visits the supermarket.
“In the trolleys beside us are bare essentials – milk, vegetable, and when you have to buy a lettuce that costs you $7 and a pound of butter yesterday at Countdown was $8, that affects whanau. The price of food is a crisis,” she says.
Ms Te Huia says midwives are working 24/7 on call as staff shortages affect the sector as well.