Source: Radio New Zealand
Karen Poutasi Supplied.
One of the country’s top health leaders has died.
Tributes are being paid to Dame Karen Poutasi, who was the first female director-general of health.
Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said Dame Karen led the implementation of the recommendations from the Cartwright Inquiry, guided New Zealand’s early response to HIV/AIDS and saw through significant reform in primary care.
She said Dame Karen took on some of the toughest public service assignments, including contributing to the governance of the Covid-19 vaccination programme.
She said the qualities that defined her career include professionalism, humility and a no-nonsense approach to getting things done.
Dame Karen was made a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2020 for her services to education and the state.
She was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2006 for her services to health administration.
She worked for 30 years in the health sector, served as director-general of health at from 1995 to 2006 and briefly chaired Health New Zealand in 2023/4 after the resignation of Rob Cambpell.
Dame Karen was also chief executive of the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) for 14 years.
She was 76.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
