Turia calls for Maori Health Scholarship applications

Associate Minister of Health Tariana Turia is urging Mäori to consider applying for this year's Mäori Health Scholarships, for study relating to health and disabilities.

The Ministry of Health is offering several hundred scholarships, worth between $300 and $2500, as well as the prestigious Dr John McLeod Scholarship recognising outstanding excellence. McLeod scholars receive $4000.

``We need tangata whenua to train as clinicians, managers, researchers, community and voluntary workers and other health professionals, to build up the capacity of whänau to plan and manage health and disability services,” said Tariana Turia.

“As well as empowering the whanau, tangata whenua participation at all levels of the health and disability sector helps the sector to respond better to the challenges of whänau ora.

``He Korowai Oranga: Mäori Health Strategy, which was released last November, places whänau at the centre of public policy. It challenges the government in particular to create environments that help whänau to shape and direct their own lives to achieve the quality of life that tangata whenua are entitled to,'' she said.

``Active participation by whanau in planning, developing and delivering health and disability services, and a trained workforce of tangata whenua, will ensure these services are appropriate and effective for our people.

“These scholarships have assisted more than 1200 of our people to improve their skills and qualifications in the past four years, and I expect them to help support hundreds more in 2003.''

Categories for the Mäori Health Scholarships are: senior secondary students, midwifery, nursing, medical students, physiotherapy, dentistry/dental therapy, pharmacy/pharmacology, health management and postgraduate/undergraduate. Scholarship recipients must be studying a health and disability related NZQA-accredited course lasting at least 12 weeks. Applications close on March 28th.

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