Pacific health

The Whānau Ora Manager for Pasifika health service, The Fono, Europa Kupu said that close to 100 families have sought their support.

"It's increasing by the day," she said.

"Most of the referrals are from different clusters and gatherings that's been happening in the past few weeks. With the amount of family and individuals getting tested we're seeing the increase of positive cases."

Kupu adds that more support is needed from the government.

The change will mean the 20 district health boards which run services for individual areas around Aotearoa will be replaced by one new body, Health NZ, which will instead plan services for the whole population.

Health NZ will have four regional divisions but also district offices.

There will also be a new Māori Health Authority, sitting alongside that, to both set policies for Māori health and to decide and fund those who will deliver services.

The chief executive of Auckland's South Seas Healthcare, Lemalu Silao Vaisola-Sefo, said about 14 percent of Pacific adults in New Zealand are obese - a number that remains stubbornly high.

Lemalu said there should be more discussion about the social factors impacting Pasifika families - such as housing, gambling and poverty.

"It's not just a health problem. Health is important, but you need to look at income and safety and security and everything else. It requires a whole lot of groups including families to come together and actually have one main goal.

The ministers met in the Cook Islands last week and embraced a commitment to leave no one behind as they work towards their goal of "healthy Islands".

The Cook Islands Minister of Health Nandi Glassie said worsening non-communicable disease levels were reflected in the childhood obesity figures.

He said to combat childhood obesity they would start by ensuring mothers are healthy.

Steven Underhill from the University of the Sunshine Coast had launched a four-year study which will look at strategies, crop selection, market transport and fruit production in Samoa, Fiji and Tonga.

According to RNZI, Dr Underhill said the islands did not have the abundance of locally grown fruit that people might think.

Academics, Pacific health researchers and leaders, and members of the diplomatic community, gathered in Wellington last week to discuss the best way to address health issues in the region. These include high rates of cancer and health and environmental effects of uncontrolled and misuse of fertilisers and pesticides.

Numerous speakers at the event, hosted at the Dutch Embassy and organised by Massey University, said more health professionals and medical equipment are needed for the region too.

In Utah, where the per-capita share of Pacific Islanders is the highest in the continental U.S., they have the highest incidence of stroke, the lowest rate of prenatal care and the highest prevalence of diabetes (twice that of the state average).

These figures are why Jake Fitisemanu, an outreach coordinator for the Office of Health Disparities at the state health department, started Pacific Islander Health Week four years ago.