Over the past week, the Nelson community has seen a rapid increase of Covid positive cases, with many families needing to go into isolation and requiring additional welfare support.

Pasifika Futures (PFL) - the Whānau Ora commissioning agency for Pacific families – recently received a boost in funding last week with the announcement of $140 million allocated for Māori and Pacific families to support them with the current Omicron outbreak.

At a time of excitement and anticipation with their inaugural super season on the horizon – team Moana Pasifika became another casualty of the global pandemic, with a number of the team contracting Covid-19 in Queenstown earlier this month.

Pasifika Futures’ Ngalu Fānifo segment on 531 PI had it’s first segment of 2022 last week, with the talanoa focusing on the Tonga crisis and how families can approach their growing stress and anxiety levels.

Board Director of the Pasifika Medical Association (PMA) Group and Auckland pediatrician, Dr Teuila Percival (QSO, FRACP), strongly encourages Pacific families whose children are eligible - between 5 to 11 years old - to get vaccinated as Covid-19 could pose huge risks to a child’s health.

The Pasifika Medical Association (PMA) has been swift in their response once news of the volcanic eruption and tsunami in Tonga was received, with preparation of a deployment team of medical professionals and specialists ready to support if requested by the Kingdom of Tonga.

With the decision from the NZ government to move the whole country into red status due to the community spread of the Omicron variant, health professionals strongly encourage the Pacific community to get fully vaccinated or if they are – seek to get their booster shot if they are eligible to do so.

Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and Pediatrician, Dr David Tan, shared in a recent Ngalu Fānifo mental health segment on 531 PI’s Pacific Days show, that it is important for parents to have healthy conversations about the vaccine with their children.

In a recent Pasifika Futures’ (PFL) Ngalu Fānifo segment on 531 P.I. the talanoa centered around a sensitive topic that is applicable for many Pacific families - childhood trauma and ways we can approach the conversation with our children.

With Christmas upon us, Dr David Tan offered some advice and encouragement to Pacific families in a recent Ngalu Fānifo mental health segment on the Pacific Days Show on 531 PI.

Pasifika Futures (PFL) - the Whānau Ora commissioning agency for Pacific families - has been steadfast in their provision of support for Pacific families during the Delta community outbreak and one of the support services for families has been pet care for Pacific families isolating in MIQ.

Chief Executive for Pasifika Medical Association (PMA), Debbie Sorensen, says the use of pulse oximeters is not enough to support the health needs of people in home isolation.