July 13, 2021
Plunket reviews record on Maori
Whānau Āwhina Plunket says it's time to level the playing field for all pēpi and tamariki in Aotearoa.
Clinical leaders went back to Puketeraki Marae in Karitāne where the organisation began in 1907 for a three-day noho marae to understand how the organisation can better meet the needs of whānau Māori.
Chief executive Amanda Malu says the health care playing field has never been level in access, opportunity, or equity.
Whānau Āwhina Plunket has recognised it has an obligation to work differently to help improve Māori health outcomes.
Plunket sees around 85 per cent of all new-born babies in Aotearoa, including more than 50 per cent of Māori pēpi.
Ms Malu says whānau Māori who choose Plunket rather than Māori-led service providers deserve a service that meets their needs.
The organisation is also acknowledging the role played by two Māori midwives, Ria Tikene and Mere Harper, Ms Malu's great-great-grandmother, in the foundation of Whānau Āwhina Plunket, and apologised for the problematic views held by co-founder Dr Trudy King in relation to eugenics, a racist pseudo-science.
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