WHANGAREI - Northland's high rate of Third World diseases among children will not improve until poverty and overcrowding are addressed, says a paediatrician.
Roger Tuck, the Northland Health clinical director of child health services, said many of the health problems affecting children in the region were directly related to poverty andovercrowded housing.
Recent figures showed that up to 1400 children in Northland lived in overcrowded homes, contributing to the region's high rates of Third World diseases such as meningitis and tuberculosis.
A study of overcrowding by the Centre for Research, Evaluation and Social Assessment showed that Northland, particularly the Far North, had some of the worst cases in the country.
"We've got kids running around on dirt floors up here."
In October, 12 people from four families in Otangarei, one of Whangarei's poorest suburbs, were diagnosed with tuberculosis, including nine children. Most were living in overcrowded conditions.
Dr Tuck said many children were catching diseases that could be prevented by immunisation.
"Employment and doing something about poverty, as well as addressing the overcrowding situation, will do wonders in Northland."
