Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has announced a two-year $50 million package to help Māori health providers lift immunisation rates.
Launching the programme in Porirua today, Dr Reti says low immunisation rates put tamariki at particular risk of life threatening – and in some cases deadly – illness.
“We have a shared determination to make a difference for our most vulnerable.
“That's why this programme is important and why as a government we're determined immunisation rates will improve for all children, including low-coverage Māori babies and children. …
Of the $50 million over two years, $30 million will go to Whānau Ora providers to work with those most at risk – Māori and non-Māori pēpi, hāpu māma, and kaumātua. An additional $10 million will go to North Island partners and $10 million to South Island partner
This is a good example of how Government can work with Maori health providers to try and improve outcomes for Maori. You don't need a 400 strong bureaucracy with co-governance. You just need good policy, good targeting and good relationships.
Despite all the rhetoric from the last Government about Maori health, the actual outcomes have been terrible. Look at the chart below.
Click to view
So the key Government inherited a vaccination rate for Maori two year olds of under 75%. In just three years they managed to lift it to almost 95% and it stayed at over 90%. Under Labour it fell to under 70%.
David Farrar runs Curia Market Research, a specialist opinion polling and research agency, and the popular Kiwiblog where this article was sourced. He previously worked in the Parliament for eight years, serving two National Party Prime Ministers and three Opposition Leaders.
7 comments:
As a result of the covid experience people are finally taking a look at the other vaccines and finding the safety data is dodgy also. The covid response has completely undermined trust in anything the experts have to say, so no wonder rates have dropped
Does the Left actually care about the poor and specifically Maori.
Or do they want to keep the poverty alive to ensure supporters, or alternatively is it just incompetence.
Reti has just shown us what side he's on, hasn't he??
Bill Gates will be SO proud of him.
'Scuse me, but what's stopping Maori from seeking immunisation with safe medicines, eg. chicken pox, rubella. The list is long, but excluding Covid - for now.
Conversely, Maori are not forced to smoke, but some choose to do so. NZ society in general is bombarded with warnings about its inherent dangers.
It all boils down to responsible choice, so let's see a cessation of finger pointing and trying to blame someone or something (eg. colonialism) else; and let's see too a cessation of pandering to Maori with taxpayers' money.
I completely agree with both bloggers above.
From rumours I gather Maori have become wary of vaccinations. One third of those at the Parliamentary Protest of '22 were Maori. Quite rightly in my opinion.
More and more evidence is coming out that the covid vaccines were neither safe nor effective. I have personally observed damaged children from the MMR vaccines.
There were definitely problems with the whooping cough vaccine and Japan spaced out the MMR vaccines because of risks of brain damage. There has been an increase in autism which may be due to childhood vaccines.
People would have more trust in vaccines if there much more integrity and honesty in the MOH. Diet , exercise, clean and safe environments and activities and healthy life styles are the proven keys to health .
Spot on Erica.
Let’s stop wasting money on pandering to people and provide quality education so people can make their own informed choices including as to risk and reward.
Maori learned from covid that if they did not stir as others and get vaccinated all would be brought to their door with food, possibly money, and a social chat in maori time with an indoctrinated like minded fellow spouting "imagine decolonisation"and other populist cliches.
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