E Tipu E Rea Whānau Services

E Tipu e Rea Whānau services supports young hapū
māmā, mātua taiohi (young parents) and their tamariki
with a range of health and social services tailored to their
needs. Our mission statement is: Supporting mātua taiohi,
hapū māmā and pēpi to grow, thrive, and be rangatira
within their whānau, hapū, iwi, hapori.

E Tipu e Rea
Whānau Service holds the same concerns public health
experts regarding the vulnerability of Aotearoa to a measles
epidemic, particularly with the lower immunisation rates
observed especially among tamariki Māori.

Given the
priority focus on Māori and the need for immediate action
to prevent such an epidemic, the involvement of
organisations like E Tipu E Rea Whānau Services through
initiatives such as Kahu Taurima, which was originally set
up by Te Aka Whai Ora and Whatu Ora’s are
crucial.

The intentions of the Kahu Taurima vision
with providers like E Tipu E Rea Whānau Services is to
provide accessible, culturally safe wrap-around immunisation
initiatives and other Early Years and Maternity
supports.

In preventing the measles epidemic threat,
those with Kahu Taurima contracts will be engaging in
multiple strategies to increase immunisations
including:

1. Outreach service and education to
   provide information about the importance of immunisation and
   addressing concerns or misconceptions in communities where
   our whānau live.
2. Culturally sensitive vaccination
   clinics that offer services at locations that are
   convenient, local, and culturally comfortable spaces such as
   marae, youth hubs or community
   centres.
3. Collaborative efforts to work closely with
   local iwi authorities, health providers, and community
   leaders to develop and implement these targeted
   strategies.
4. Tailored tautoko that offer wrap-around
   services that address the broader social determinants such
   as housing, education and employment that all impact
   immunisation rates.
5. Empowering whānau to engage in
   the decision-making processes and empowering them to take an
   active role in safeguarding the health of their tamariki and
   communities.

Ereana Selwyn, Pou Whakahaere,
Clinical Lead in the E Tipu E Rea Whānau Services Kuru
Pounamu (Maternity and Early Years) team delivering on the
Kahu Taurima contract states:

“At E Tipu e Rea
Whānau Services we want to address and minimise the
barriers to accessing childhood immunisations. Our Kahu
Taurima service aims to provide age and culturally
appropriate health education and services in antenatal care,
tamariki ora, and immunisations to support whānau in
providing the best start to life for their tamariki. We want
to invest in whānau throughout the first 2000 days of life
to ensure we make an impactful difference to lifelong, and
intergenerational wellbeing. We also want to work
collectively with other providers to achieve high
immunisations rates for whānau. Together we can achieve
great outcomes. We are pleased that childhood immunisations
remain a priority for the new government”

Another
pandemic will also put our pacific neighbours in danger. The
2019 outbreak in Samoa resulted in 83 preventable measles
related deaths.

By combining the above mentioned
strategies with the efforts of organisations like E Tipu E
Rea Whānau Services and others, Aotearoa can work towards
mitigating the risk of a measles epidemic and improving the
health and wellbeing of Māori
communities.

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