Ministry of Health launches Māori and Pacific health action plans
Wed 05 Aug 2020
The Ministry of Health has published Whakamaua: Māori Health Action Plan 2020-2025 and Ola Manuia: Pacific Health and Wellbeing Action Plan 2020–2025.
Whakamaua is the implementation plan for He Korowai Oranga, New Zealand’s Māori Health Strategy. The plan outlines actions to collectively help achieve four high-level outcomes. These four outcomes are:
- "Iwi, hapū, whānau and Māori communities exercising their authority to improve their health and wellbeing.
- Ensuring the health and disability system is fair and sustainable and delivers more equitable outcomes for Māori.
- Addressing racism and discrimination in all its forms.
- Protecting mātauranga Māori throughout the health and disability system."
The plan includes Te Whāinga Tōmua (priority areas) for action. Te Whāinga Tōmua #5 is Te kōtuitui i ngā mahi a ngāmomo rāngai (cross-sector action). One of the actions under this priority area includes:
"Prioritise the active protection and achievement of health equity and wellbeing for Māori in cross-sector strategies and work programmes (including the Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy and the Homelessness Action Plan) and participation on the Joint Venture on Family Violence and Sexual Violence."
Ola Manuia sets out priority outcomes and accompanying actions focused on improving the health and wellbeing of the Pacific population in Aotearoa New Zealand. Appendix B of the plan lists 'Actions ato' - Collection of activities and measures. Actions related to family violence, including child abuse, are under the focus areas of Service Priorities and Mental Wellbeing. These include:
- "[Strengthen and increase access to culturally safe and appropriate local/regional initiatives to] reduce child abuse and family violence"
- "Implement local and national family violence prevention strategies and plans"
- "Promote Pacific peoples understanding of services to support the prevention of family violence"
- "Implement relevant Family Violence Act 2018 strategies"
This plan builds on the previous Ministry of Health plan, Ala Mo’ui: Pathways to Pacific Health and Wellbeing 2014–2018.
In launching the plan, Associate Health Minister Jenny Salesa said “Ola Manuia highlights the range of factors that impact on Pacific people's health and the need for more effective collaboration both within the health and disability system and across the health, housing, employment, education and social service sectors."
Related news
In June 2020, the Government released its final report from the Health and Disability System Review, which includes plans to create a new Māori Health Authority. For more information and responses to this, see the media list below.
Te Rōpū Whakakaupapa Urutā is the National Māori Pandemic Working group. They have published a number of brief policy statements, including a call for Restarting the health system to ensure that equity is at the centre of the health system.
For more information about family violence in Pacific populations, see our Issues Paper #16: Pacific perspectives on family violence in Aotearoa New Zealand (2020).
Related media
New Kiribati study highlights prevalence of domestic violence, RNZ, 03.08.2020
(Read the full report Violence Against Women and Girls in South Tarawa, Kiribati: Findings from a 2019 Baseline Study)
Domestic violence on the rise in Tonga, RNZ, 03.08.2020
Securing healthy futures for all Māori, Beehive Media Release, 31.07.2020
Major health review remains split on how to reduce inequalities, RNZ, 25.06.2020
Māori health authority doesn't go far enough - experts, RNZ, 17.06.2020
Health overhaul lacks vision and bravery for Māori, experts say, RNZ, 17.06.2020
Image: Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash