March 20, 2024
Hauora Māori champions look ahead
Māori health providers have celebrated the progress made since the kaupapa for hauora Māori was laid down at the Hui Whakaoranga 40 years ago.
Te Whanau o Waipareira chair Ray Hall says a two-day hui at Hoani Waititi Marae this week in included a lecture from Ta Mason Durie, one of the drivers of that original hui.
He says by organising around health, Māori changed the narrative.
“Good health is generally determined by the social determinants within your community and a lot of our people were suffering poharatanga back then. The whole conversational narrative back then really set the scene for the emrgencence of the Whanau Ora Commissioning Agency, the Māori Health Authority which has since been removed,” Mr Hall says.
Even though the Government is scrapping the Māori Health Authority, Māori are determined that they have agenda-settng and decision-making roles in health rather than being pushed back into token advisory positions.