Six medical scholarships offered to thirteen recipients, with a combined value of $90,000, are providing a head start to Pasifika students pursuing a career in the health sector.

The Pacific community cannot afford to be complacent and must continue to be vigilant as the country moves to Alert Level 2 this Thursday, says a senior physician.

Relief doesn’t even begin to describe how Cook Island mother Rachel Metuangaro and her 15-year-old daughter are feeling this week. After six-weeks of having to under-go strict isolation in Auckland the pair have finally been given the all clear to head back to Rarotonga this weekend.

As the Pasifika Medical Association through Pasifika Futures – the Whānau Ora commissioning agency – continues its workstream transition to support Pacific families, the work around the Covid19 Packages of Support has continued to receive support and recently this was through a grant from the J R McKenzie Trust. The grant will be utilised immediately for further Covid-19 Packages of Support for families outside the Auckland region.

As countries around the world continue to battle the devastation of Covid-19, Samoa remains one of the few nations to be Covid-19 free.

The President of the Pasifika Medical Association Dr Kiki Maoate supports the call by Lawyers for Climate Action to ensure that the Government includes the impact of greenhouse gases and climate change resilience is a core part of the assessment of all post-COVID-19 stimulus spending.

Galumalemana Latafale Auva’a, 26, is an aspiring public sector professional. She left home in Auckland and moved down to Wellington in February this year. It was a career move as part of a graduate programme for one of the major government agencies. She was just settling into her new job and new environment when the Covid-19 pandemic eventually hit New Zealand. This had an impact on her new role and like all government departments there was an immediate response to unite and mobilise resources to face this global crisis.

When three members of the Havea family of Christchurch tested positive for Covid-19, they had to rely on their strong faith and their love for each other to get them through the challenging times.

As we continue the fight against Covid 19 and the nation moves into Level three – the Pasifika Medical Association, through Pasifika Futures, a Whānau Ora agency for Pacific families – is also in a state of transition as we move towards stabilising and reprioritising resources to better support Pacific families.

Thirty-five-year-old Jade Farrar lives with cerebral palsy and is wheelchair bound. He usually receives disability support for day-to-day needs such as household management, cooking, cleaning assistance, food shopping, and some personal care. Since the nation-wide lockdown has restricted many disability carers from entering people’s homes, Jade, like many others, have had to make compromises on their self-care and living situation.

Pasifika Medical Association Chair, Dr Kiki Maoate ONZM, FRACS said he is proud to see how Pacific communities have responded and adhered to lockdown restrictions. He told Breakfast host Pippa Wetzell that Pacific families understand the seriousness of the lockdown which has been reflected in the universal compliance to Government directives and the uptake of the flu vaccine in recent weeks.

This week’s data from the Pasifika Medical Association (through Pasifika Futures¾a Whānau Ora agency for Pacific families) shows 52,507 individuals have received Covid-19 Packages of Support during lockdown, reaching over 9000 families across New Zealand.