Peeni Henare, the Associate Health Minister responsible for Māori Health, was in Whanganui on Friday discussing the lack of a mobile vaccination clinic. Photo / Bevan Conley
Peeni Henare, the Associate Health Minister responsible for Māori Health, was in Whanganui on Friday discussing the lack of a mobile vaccination clinic. Photo / Bevan Conley
The Associate Minister of Health says it's the responsibility of the Whanganui DHB to ensure local Māori health providers are equipped to roll out the Covid-19 vaccine within Māori communities.
Peeni Henare, the Minister responsible for Māori Health, was in Whanganui on Friday meeting with local Māori health providers andthe Whanganui DHB.
The two hui were part of a tour under way over the next four weeks to boost Māori vaccination rates and identify areas where additional funding needs to be allocated.
At Friday's first hui were a number of iwi representatives and Māori health providers from across the Whanganui, Rangitīkei and Ruapehu area, while the second hui saw the Minister sit down with DHB leaders.
In an interview between the two hui, Minister Henare told the Chronicle local Māori leaders had shared some concerns with how the DHB was equipping providers.
"They were quite upfront about that today. It has gotten better, but they have acknowledged that in the past, it hasn't been where it needs to be.
Peeni Henare, the Associate Health Minister responsible for Māori Health, was in Whanganui on Friday discussing the lack of a mobile vaccination clinic. Photo / Bevan Conley
"If we look towards our underserved community, not just for Māori but in some of our more outlying places, they've been quite clear it's been a challenge [to engage with the DHB]."
Specifically, Henare raised the lack of a mobile vaccination clinic.
While the DHB has a vaccination bus, its size means it can't travel to some of the region's more remote communities, such as those around the Whanganui awa.
"I asked them if they had a mobile clinic, and they said no. I think that's absolutely disgraceful. If we're going to reach these places, we can't build a mountain and expect them to come. We need to take it to them.
"I'll be talking to the DHB quite directly about that, and if they're unable to fund it, I'll do it centrally."
Across the wider Whanganui DHB region, places like Raetihi and Ohakune continue to lag behind. Across the entire Ruapehu district, just 57.1 per cent are fully vaccinated - the second-lowest rate of any district in the country.
Asked specifically about Ruapehu, Henare said he understood the biggest challenge around the district was an anti-vaccine or anti-government sentiment.
"In talking with the iwi here, they're really keen for some resource and support that'll help them connect in the first instance, before we get to the vaccination rate.
"I've been told that a lot of them up there are anti-establishment or sitting on the fence, so how do we reach those people? We do that by resourcing locally."
Henare said the other challenge in Ruapehu was its reputation as a tourist hotspot, meaning it's likely the spread of Covid-19 could be more prevalent due to the number of travelling visitors.
"We've got to make sure that whatever goes there continues to support the people there, but also when Covid surges. I suspect when you open up Auckland, they'll come down that way."
