Iwi providers throughout the Whanganui region are stepping up mobile Covid-19 vaccination units to reach as many whānau leading into the holiday period.
Whanganui mobile clinic team run by Te Oranganui. Photo: Supplied
Te Ranga Tupua - a collective made up of iwi in Whanganui, Rangitīkei, Ruapehu and South Taranaki - will be delivering health services from Whanganui to South Taranaki and Rangitīkei for the next 15 weeks.
It comes after the collective secured additional funding from the office of Māori Crown Relations - Te Arawhiti.
Te Ranga Tupua operations lead Elijah Pue said teams were heading directly to the areas where there was vaccine hesitancy, accessibility barriers or where extra help was needed.
The oranga, or survival, of their whānau was top priority, he said, so providing support was paramount.
"We've set up four mobile vaccination units across the Whanganui rohe: two in Whanganui, one in Rangitīkei and one up in Ruapehu, and the whole idea behind it is to increase access to the vaccine.
"Instead of waiting for our people to present at a clinic it's about us taking the clinic to the people.
"This isn't just about vaccination, first and foremost it is about increasing vaccination rates of course but we're also doing welfare checks for our whānau, we'll have a Whānau Ora team," he said.
Te Ranga Tupua operations lead Elijah Pue says it is paramount to prepare the community for Covid-19 cases. Photo: Supplied
Te Ranga Tupua was focused on preparing whānau for the growth in visitors and the possibility of Covid-19 cases.
Local iwi providers have stood up services to provide holistic support to those in need, including households having enough food and room in homes to self-isolate if needed.
The providers include Te Oranganui Trust in Whanganui, Ngā Waihua o Paerangi Trust in the Waimarino, Te Kōtuku Hauora Ltd and Mōkai Pātea Services in Rangitīkei and Tupoho Iwi and Community Social Services in Whanganui.
"Our teams are working six days a week to reach as many people in the lead into the holiday period and before the country opens up.
"Our teams have hit the road - heading directly to the people, to the areas where there are barriers to access, where people are uncertain and where there is a need for that extra bit of support. We will share a cuppa, have a kōrero with our whānau and provide them with the information they need to be prepared, particularly now that Covid-19 is present in our community.
"For places like Ōhakune, Raetahi and Ruapehu where they have high numbers of tourists that come both in summer and winter, it's really important that we're prepared for that to happen ... it's inevitable that Covid is going to get into our backyard," Pue said.
Since the government announced the beginning of the traffic light system and the opening of the Auckland borders, Māori providers have had to rapidly increase their vaccination efforts to try and lift vaccination rates in the country's most vulnerable areas.
Pue said it was not too late, but time was ticking, and Te Ranga Tupua was determined to give their best shot to uplift vaccination rates.
The collective understood that some people may not want the vaccine, but it was eager to support everyone no matter their choice was because people still had needs.
But Pue said had the government allowed Māori to lead vaccination efforts like this initiative from the beginning and had they been given the funding and resources to do so a year ago, things might have turned out differently.
"We've got an opportunity before us and so we're doing the best we can.
"We want every person in the Te Ranga Tupua iwi rohe to have at least had the opportunity to receive the vaccine.
"First and foremost, it's access to the vaccine and secondly it's the ongoing resilience part that we're doing a lot of work on at the moment and what happens when Covid-19 actually comes in our backdoor," he said.