ABSTRACT
Tena tatou katoa He kupu manaaki ki nga tapuhi o Aotearoa Nursing has made a huge contribution to our pandemic response in Aotearoa New Zealand. Nurses have contributed to local community engagement to promote safety and wellbeing;aged care and outreach services caring for vulnerable people and particularly our Maori and Pacific communities;and provided leadership and assistance to policy at national, and local levels;and adopted changes to the delivery of nursing education. Ka nui te awhina a o tatou tapuhi ki nga mahi torotoro hapori hei whakatairanga i te hauora me te toiora;ko te tiaki kaumatua me nga toronga taurima hapori whakaraerae tera, otira ko o tatou hapori Maori, Moana-nui-a-Kiwa te hapori e aronuitia ana;kua aratakina, kua awhinatia hoki e nga tapuhi nga kaupapa here i nga taumata a-motu, atakiwa hoki;kua whakaurua hoki he panonitanga ki te mahi whakaako tapuhi.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Communicable Disease Control , Disease Transmission, Infectious , Immunization Programs , International Health Regulations/organization & administration , Public Health , COVID-19/epidemiology , COVID-19/prevention & control , Communicable Disease Control/methods , Communicable Disease Control/organization & administration , Disease Transmission, Infectious/legislation & jurisprudence , Disease Transmission, Infectious/prevention & control , Government Regulation , Humans , Immunization Programs/organization & administration , Immunization Programs/trends , Internationality , New Zealand/epidemiology , Policy Making , Public Health/legislation & jurisprudence , Public Health/methods , Public Health/trends , SARS-CoV-2ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted vast differences across countries in their responses to the emergency and their capacities to implement public health measures that could slow the progression of the disease. As public health systems are the first line of defense during pandemics, it has become clear that sustained investment in strengthening public health infrastructure is a major need in all countries, irrespective of income levels. Drawing on the successful experiences of Switzerland, Georgia, and New Zealand in dealing with COVID-19, we suggest prioritizing core public health capacities with links to the International Health Regulations, improving international cooperation, coordination, and multisectoral action, addressing health inequities by targeting vulnerable groups, and enhancing health literacy, including through sophisticated and sustained communication campaigns to build resilience. These measures will ensure that health systems and communities will be better prepared for the disruptions that future disease outbreaks will inevitably bring.