Concerns about the direction of Māori health policy in Aotearoa have been taken to the global stage, with warnings delivered to the United Nations about widening inequities and the erosion of Indigenous leadership.
Speaking at the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York, Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa NZNO kaiwhakahaere Kerri Nuku outlined what she described as a growing gap between the Government’s international commitments and its actions at home.
Despite endorsing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Government is being accused of stepping back from policies aimed at improving Māori health outcomes. Central to those concerns is the disestablishment of Te Aka Whai Ora, which removed a dedicated Māori health authority designed to address long-standing inequities.
Nuku highlighted that Māori continue to experience systemic disparities in health, including a life expectancy significantly lower than non-Māori. She said the removal of Māori-led structures has reduced accountability and weakened targeted approaches that were developed to improve outcomes for whānau.
The impacts are being felt across the workforce and communities, with concerns raised about job insecurity for Māori health workers, reduced access to care, and worsening outcomes. Particular attention has been drawn to the compounded challenges faced by wāhine Māori and survivors of state care, who already experience higher levels of vulnerability.
The issue was framed at the forum as an example of structural and policy-driven racism, with calls for international scrutiny of how Indigenous health rights are being upheld in Aotearoa.
Nuku urged the forum to monitor developments and hold the Government accountable to its commitments under Te Tiriti o Waitangi and UNDRIP. There are growing concerns that without a shift in direction, disparities in health outcomes will continue to deepen.
The intervention places Aotearoa under international attention, as debate intensifies at home over the future of Māori health policy and the role of Indigenous leadership in shaping equitable systems.
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