Child poverty is widespread in Tauranga, though much of it is hidden from view, a local social worker says.
Te Tuinga Whanau Trust social worker Jena Young said many locals pretended the problem didn't exist: "It is there, it is real".
Children became sick through inadequate housing, lack of medical care and nutrition, Ms Young said.
For a developed country, New Zealand was falling "way behind", she said.
A Unicef report found New Zealand had one of the highest rates of children not in any form of education, training or employment in the developed world.