The Fijian and Rotuman community in Auckland are intensifying their fight against Covid with their community’s vaccination drive which started yesterday and continues today and tomorrow at the Māngere Centre Park in Favona.

In a recent talanoa on 531 Pacific Mornings radio show, Pasifika Futures (PFL) – the Whānau Ora commissioning agency for Pacific families – CEO Mrs Debbie Sorensen reassured Pacific families across the country that their wide range of support is still available and accessible for all who need immediate or interim assistance.

Regardless of recent government announcements around changes with Alert Level restrictions for various regions, the demand from Pacific families for support continues to grow and so Pasifika Futures (PFL) – the Whānau Ora commissioning agency for Pacific families – will continue to respond to these needs.

The communication of Covid-19 messaging in Pacific languages is key to helping people better understand the virus, says a Tuvalu community leader.

As part of the recent wave of ethnic vaccinations – Tuvalu, Tokelau and Kiribati are uniting for a vaccination drive for their respective communities that continues today at 40 Kirrie Avenue, Te Atatu South.

“Amongst the areas that Pasifika people live and thrive in, I think mental health is growing and I think the need is slowly being met, but I think we’ve still got a way to go. The Ngalu Fānifo initiative helps break a few of those barriers”, says Samoan psychiatry registrar and PMA member Dr Christmas Seu, when sharing on NiuFM about the Ngalu Fānifo segment that will debut tomorrow on Pacific Media Networks (PMN) – 531 PI Pacific Days Show.

This week is Mental Health Awareness Week and given the pressures created by this current Covid-19 Delta outbreak, it is timely that the Pasifika Medical Association (PMA) through Pasifika Futures (PFL) – the Whānau Ora agency for Pacific families – will partner with the Pacific Media Network (PMN) to launch a dedicated weekly mental health segment to address mental health concerns from the Pacific community.

The Samoan community are joining the many Pacific Island communities running ethnic specific vaccination events this week.

The Cook Island community like so many of the Pacific Island groups have rallied together in response to concerns around the Covid-19 vaccination uptake amongst their families.

In response to concerns around the Covid-19 vaccination uptake amongst Pasifika, the Pacific community are using different approaches to engage with families and this includes ethnic specific vaccination drives.

As we move into a new week of Alert Level restrictions from Alert Level 3 to Alert Level 2, one of the tools for Delta containment has been the use of self-isolation and for some Pacific families, this has added additional stress as their circumstances make it difficult to comply with health authority directives.

A core value for Pasifika Futures (PFL) – the Whanau Ora commissioning agency for Pacific families – during this current community outbreak is to provide support for ALL Pacific people.