Hawke's Bay iwi Ngāti Kahungunu is working with the Hawke's Bay District Health Board (HBDHB) to support local Māori and Pasifika families amid the lockdown.
More than 6000 Pasifika people call Hawke's Bay home, and with the country in lockdown, community leaders expect hundreds of families, both Māori and Pasifika, to be hit hard.
Tagata Pasifika reports that Ngāti Kahungunu has set up a food parcel programme there to deliver basic staples to families, and iwi leader Ngahiwi Tomoana says it's well-known now that Māori and Pasifika people struggle at times like this.
"We know from the campylobacter outbreak in Havelock North that Māori and Pasifika missed out," he told Tagata Pasifika.
"We know that during the GFC financial crisis, Māori and Pasifika were left out - so we're going straight to our whānau."
Mr Tomoana also said the iwi is engaging politically to ensure "that they get the best treatment available" if infected with Covid-19.
Local food producers are also playing their part, gifting produce to the project which would otherwise go to waste.
Talalelei Taufale of the HBDHB says hundreds of Pasifika families in the region are doing it tough during the lockdown, so the iwi reaching out to them with support makes a huge difference.
"As a consequence of Covid-19, we're probably looking at around at least 200-250 Pasifika families who are very vulnerable at this time," Mr Taufale said.
"We're not like Auckland, we don't have the health providers, we don't have a lot of the resources they have up there or in Wellington.
"So for the iwi to come forward and take us onboard the waka was huge for us - it enables us to move forward."
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