Latest HIV data concerns for Māori

Latest HIV data concerns for Māori

Updated Data on HIV diagnoses by ethnicity shows an alarming trend for New Zealanders.

An updated Ethnicity report released in conjunction with the AIDS Epidemiology 2008 report on 2nd March by the Ministry of Health raise significant concerns for Māori, Indigenous and Pasifika people.

Marama Pala, a Māori woman living with HIV – and Executive Director of INA (Māori, Indigenous & South Pacific) HIV/AIDS Foundation met in Wellington last week to discuss the HIV related issues facing Māori, Indigenous, and Pasifika people.

“The concerns facing Māori and South Pacific people is the increase in infections generally, with the highest burden of children being Māori, and Māori Women being the highest incidence ratio of people infected in New Zealand. With no show of relief for Indigenous cultures living in New Zealand” said Marama Pala.

“More significantly, the percentage of people presenting at AIDS stage – 40.6% Māori and 28.6% Pacific,” she stated

“It shows the epidemic after 30 years is not slowing down. And people are running the risk of not being diagnosed until too late..”

Recommendations were made to review the National Action plan for HIV prevalence and surveillance.

“This epidemic does not discriminate,” says Marama Pala, New Zealand’s representative on the International Indigenous HIV/AIDS Secretariat. “We now need to exercise the strategies that we with our Indigenous brothers and sisters, globally, are developing to combat AIDS in New Zealand”

ENDS

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