The announcement came during today’s 1pm Covid-19 press conference with the Prime Minister initially outlining the additional funding for Pacific providers and Whānau Ora.

“Cabinet has approved $49 million in additional funding to support Whānau Ora and Pacific providers to assist in responding to the current outbreak, especially given that it is disproportionately impacting the Pacific community”, announced the Prime Minister.

She commended Whānau Ora’s work in supporting families and says they have brought a huge amount of comfort to our communities.

Minister Henare says the funding will help meet the increased demands for Whānau Ora services and the challenges being endured by families during this lockdown period.

“Whānau Ora has once again swiftly mobilized networks and pivoted resources to provide the critical support whānau need during this lockdown.

We have committed an additional $23 million to Whānau Ora so that it can continue to provide this necessary support.

The three Whānau Ora commissioning agencies will receive an immediate boost of $8.8 million so they can continue to provide direct and integrated support to whānau.

A further $14.2 million will be allocated based on need as information on the impact of the current change in the alert levels unfolds.”

This is welcome news for PFL CEO Debbie Sorensen who says she is grateful that the Government has recognized the work of the commissioning agencies in responding to the current Covid-19 outbreak.

“The additional funding will help put more food on the tables of our families and will provide a sense of comfort to ensure that families are able to survive the rest of this outbreak.

The announcement recognizes the work of our Whānau Ora partners right across Aotearoa, including the incredible work undertaken in supporting families in self-isolation and in quarantine.”

Mrs Sorensen says the funding is a reassurance for both Pacific families and PFL as the team will continue supporting Pacific families, not just during but also after the lockdown.

“The funding will allow us to support our mental health services, which is really important to us. As families transition out of lockdown, we need to ensure it happens in the right way so they can resume their everyday life.

We need to support family members who might have lost their jobs. We also need to work really hard to get our children back into education after weeks of disruption to their learning.”

#pmafamily    #pmafamily

Date: Thursday 02 September 2021