September 06, 2019
New Hāpai head ready for action
The new head of Māori public health organisation Hāpai Te Hauora is looking forward to doing real cool stuff.
Selah Hart from Ngāti Kuia, Ngāi Tahu and Ngāti Kahungunu has worked for Hāpai for a decade and been acting chief executive since Lance Norman moved on a year ago
She says given the statistics for Māori, Pasifika and low income people, there is a need to disrupt the status quo and promote innovation.
"What are some progressive, forward thinking, forward moving actions we can put in place and from a public health perspective we're looking at the whole of population, we're looking at every kaupapa or aspect that may interact or engage with our whānau. How can we get in the ears of those decision makers and how can we influence the policies to really make changes at the grass roots," she says.
Ms Hart says people can't rely on the system to do everything for them, and they need to look at what they can do to build up health support structures within whānau and communities.
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