Stay vigilant e te whānau – measles is on the move
Stay vigilant e te whānau – measles is on the move.
With many whānau having travelled over the long weekend, now’s a good time to stay alert and help stop the spread of measles.
If you or your whānau have measles symptoms – such as fever, cough, runny nose, sore eyes or a rash – please stay home and phone ahead before visiting your doctor or health provider. This helps protect others.
📞 You can also call Healthline for free anytime on 0800 611 116 for any pātai or concerns.
Protect yourself and your whānau:
✔️ Two doses of the MMR vaccine after 12 months of age protects 99% of people against measles.
✔️ The MMR vaccine is safe and free for anyone under 18 years old, and for adults eligible for free healthcare.
✔️You can book your vaccine with your pharmacy, doctor, nurse, or Hauora Māori or Pacific health provider. You can find your nearest immunisation clinic here: https://info.health.nz/immunisations/immunisation-clinics
🌏 Locations of interest will be updated as they become available:
https://info.health.nz/…/measles-locations-of-interest…
ℹ️ For info on checking if you’re fully protected, visit:
https://info.health.nz/…/infectio…/about-measles/measles
or call the Vaccination Helpline on 0800 282 926.
Kia noho haumaru, whānau – let’s look after one another and keep our communities safe.
Waiariki Health Realities in Māori Hands Thanks to Dedicated Data Dashboard
Te Taura Ora o Waiariki, the Iwi Māori Partnership Board (IMPB) has taken a major step toward transforming how Māori health data is accessed, understood, and used for decision-making, completing the first stage of training for a new Māori data platform that will empower iwi to see their own health trends clearly for the first time.
The training, held in Taupō alongside governance members and three neighbouring Iwi Māori Partnership Boards, marks the beginning of a significant shift toward Māori data sovereignty, ensuring information about our people is held, interpreted, and used by us, for us.
“This marks a pivotal moment for Māori leadership in health. This data platform allows us to see our people clearly. We can now identify exactly where needs exist, where gaps in the system are impacting whānau, and where opportunities lie to invest in solutions that will create real change,” said Hingatu Thompson, Chair of Te Taura Ora o Waiariki.
Until now, data relating to the Waiariki region was grouped within the wider Lakes District, which meant the true realities of our whānau were hidden within larger population sets. Now for the first time, Te Taura Ora o Waiariki will be able to access a dedicated dashboard populated with data specific to our rohe.
The initial dashboard draws on information currently provided by Te Whatu Ora on the government’s 5+5+5 health targets:
- Faster cancer treatment
- Improved immunisation
- Shorter stays in emergency departments
- Shorter wait times for first specialist assessment
- Shorter wait times for elective treatment
While this first iteration is modest, it represents a breakthrough in visibility and will provide a foundation on which a richer, more comprehensive dataset will be built over time.
Participants in the training explored data through a te ao Māori worldview. Rather than viewing data as numbers alone, kaimahi reflected on data as a living narrative that carries the voice, mana and aspirations of whānau, hapū and iwi. The training is designed to build capability and confidence so that data insights can be used to inform strategic planning, influence policy, and strengthen advocacy on behalf of Māori communities.
Te Taura Ora o Waiariki has also been gathering whānau voice independently through kōrero, surveys and hui. Although this qualitative data is not yet integrated into the dashboard, it remains central to interpreting the numbers and will be used alongside the platform to ensure decisions reflect lived reality, not just statistics.
The platform build and training are being led by Te Tihi o Ruahine, a respected whānau ora collective with deep expertise in Māori data systems and technical development. Seven more training modules will be delivered between now and June 2026, with one of these wānanga set to be hosted in Te Arawa in February 2026. As the platform matures, new data sources will be incorporated to build a more complete picture of community wellbeing.
“This kaupapa is not just about technology,” Thompson said. “It is about restoring mana motuhake, defining success on our own terms, and using evidence grounded in our worldview to uplift the wellbeing of our whānau.”
The training follows the key appointment of Urukahinga Rei (Ngāti Whakaue, Tūhourangi) as Kaitātari, a role that identifies, describes, and maps key datasets relevant to whānau hauora.
In the coming years, Te Taura Ora o Waiariki will share insights and stories emerging from the data platform with iwi partners, Māori providers and communities to support collective action toward improved health outcomes.
Media Liaison: Sarah Sparks Email: Sarah.sparks@sparksconsulting.co.nz Mobile: 021318813
Kōrero with Hingatu Thompson Chair of Te Taura Ora o Waiariki - Te Arawa IMPB
The Chair recently joined The Heat FM – Turn It Up to kōrero about the Whānau Voice Grants and why your stories matter. He shared insights into the role of Te Taura Ora o Waiariki, the importance of Iwi Māori Partnership Boards, and how Whānau Voice helps shape better health outcomes for our communities. Learn how whānau can get involved and apply for support to bring their ideas to life.
Te Pākira Hauora Clinic
In early 2025, Te Pākira hosted its very first hauora clinic, supported by Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Pikiao, and the response from whānau was incredible.
Māori health front and centre from cancers to overall hauora
Waatea News Radio Interview
Rawiri Bhana is a strategic leader with Te Taura Ora o Waiariki, bringing deep expertise in Māori governance, tikanga, and land development to advance iwi aspirations across the Te Arawa rohe. As Aotearoa faces deepening health inequalities and the ongoing fallout from the disestablishment of the Māori Health Authority (Te Aka Whai Ora), Māori-led health solutions are proving to be not just necessary-but transformative. Grounded in whakapapa, wairua, and whānau-centred care, iwi, hapū, and Māori providers across the motu are building a parallel system of care designed by Māori, for Māori.
Despite decades of health reform, Māori continue to experience:
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A 7-year life expectancy gap compared to non-Māori
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Higher rates of preventable diseases, including diabetes, cancer, and heart disease
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Barriers to accessing care, including institutional racism, cost, and cultural disconnection
These disparities have led to a rising demand for Māori-led responses that prioritise mana motuhake-self-determination-and reflect a holistic view of health grounded in te ao Māori.
Original Article Source: https://waateanews.com/2025/07/08/ata-tu-rawiri-bhana/
Insights From Rawiri Bhana on Te Arawa Hauora Data Stories
Te Hiku Radio Interview
I te ata nei kōrero tahi ai mātou ki a Rawiri Bhana e pā ana ki ngā “Te Arawa hauora data stories”, me ngā hua o tēnei mō te iwi o Te Arawa. Anei āna kōrero.
[This morning we had a conversation with Rawiri Bhana about the “Te Arawa hauora data stories” and the benefits of this for the Te Arawa people. Here is what he said.]
Original Article: https://tehiku.nz/te-hiku-radio/kuaka-marangaranga/53517/insights-from-rawiri-bhana-on-te-arawa-hauora-data-stories
Enabling Te Arawa Hauora Data Stories
The hauora data stories of Iwi-Māori whānau living in Rotorua can soon be told by Te Arawa.
Te Taura Ora o Waiariki – Te Arawa Iwi Māori Partnership Board (IMPB) and PHO, Rotorua Area Primary Health Services (RAPHS), have signed a data sharing agreement supporting Te Arawa whānau access to Māori health data and collection.
Enabling autonomy and transparent analysis of Māori health data can assist IMPBs nationally to selfdetermine priorities and monitor health sector performance for enhancing hauora Māori.
Over several months, RAPHS worked in partnership with Te Taura Ora o Waiariki to unravel technical and health system knots that historically prevented secure and specific data sharing. The relationship between RAPHS and Te Taura Ora o Waiariki is enduring. For RAPHS, the agreement reinforces their values of He Ora Whakapiri (Together, we make it better) and the commitment to improve health system outcomes and equity.
“Health data is a taonga, it is whakapapa, holding the genetic journey and experiences of whānau. For RAPHS, the data sharing agreement respects this taonga and is another step toward tino rangatiratanga by enabling data sovereignty for iwi Māori.” – RAPHS CEO, Kirsten Stone
The arrangement empowers Taura Ora o Waiariki to have confidential access to Māori health data that has been compiled and made anonymous. This means personal information such as a person’s name, date of birth, or address won’t be seen and individuals can’t be identified. Data will be
retrieved, analysed, and monitored to inform hauora Māori strategy and outcomes.
“Having access to accurate and timely local data is a game changer for Te Taura Ora o Waiariki. Our agreement with RAPHS will help us to identify and advocate for key changes to policy, service provision, and the funding mechanisms needed to improve quality and access to healthcare for Māori.
Coupled with what whānau are telling us, we can build a clearer picture of where best to concentrate our efforts – having data means we can work smarter” – Te Taura Ora o Waiariki GM, Aroha Dorset
We need a significantly scaled-up Māori health workforce
Lauren James is co-chair of Te Taura Ora o Waiariki IMPB, the legislated Iwi Māori Partnership Board for the Rotorua area.
OPINION: It’s clear that our health system is in crisis, and Māori will feel the impact more than other parts of the population.
Māori experience a stark health disparity, with an average lifespan seven years shorter than non-Māori; face a cardiovascular disease death rate twice as high; see their tamariki suffering a mortality rate one-and-a-half times that of non-Māori children; and are disproportionately diagnosed and die from cancer.
The evidence tells us that high need and Māori sit hand in hand in this country. The current status quo doesn’t work for us; quite the contrary, it kills us!
Iwi Māori Partnership Boards (IMPBs) were stood up as part of the government response to Wai 2575 (Waitangi Tribunal Health Services and Outcomes Inquiry) and the Simpson Report (Health and Disability System Review), to address the glaring disparities that Maori faced in health and wellbeing.
Yet while the intent of the Government for these IMPBs and now disestablished Te Aka Whai Ora (Māori Health Authority) was honourable, the execution was poor. The entities’ efforts have been underfunded, under-resourced, and burdened by unrealistic expectations.
The resourcing for IMPBs felt like little more than tokenism at best, and blatant inequity at worst – yet two years since our establishment, and despite a change in government, we remain standing.
Not only are we still here, but against all odds, IMPBs have created Community Health Plans that reflect our most cherished taonga—the voices of our whānau and locality data.
They are boldly advocating for long-term, evergreen contracts to sustain our backbone of Māori health providers, striving to strike a principled balance between the needs of our people and the demands of government. I believe both can be achieved.
We are flexible, agile, and ready to challenge the system, pushing for bold, innovative solutions that prioritise social value over financial gain.
IMPBs are only a small part of the health system, but like all good things that come in tiny packages, we are dynamic, explosive and already punching well above our weight.
We should be encouraged by what our 15 IMPBs have achieved in record time. Minister Reti set a deadline in July for our plans, and most of them have been delivered. Now we wait for the official response.
Currently our Māori health providers’ contracts have been rolled over to June next year only, experiencing their own budget forecasting uncertainty in the context of a billion-dollar deficit in Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand.
Advocating for greater investment in Māori health providers is critical, especially when it’s claimed that Māori prefer mainstream providers. How can we speak of choice when only 2% of health funding goes to Māori providers, yet the demand by our people is massive? This minimal investment strips people of genuine choice, leaving them with few alternatives in the care they can access.
Some, like our whaikaha (disabled) whānau, are particularly underserved as seen in the evidence filed in Wai 2575. This is due to the way the system allocates contracts to the huge players who dominate procurement, which perpetuates ongoing inequity.
We need a significantly scaled-up Māori health workforce – our doctors, nurses, midwives, lead maternity carers, allied health professionals, non-clinical staff, and even the cleaners – everyone who serves our communities. We need more of them, and we need them now.
What sets IMPBs apart is our accountability to whānau, hapū, iwi, and communities; we serve them first and foremost. Their voices make it clear: we can’t afford to wait for the system to change, especially when whānau pass away while waiting in emergency departments.
This reality shows us that the system is in crisis. As we’re continually reminded of the health system’s financial struggles, let’s not forget that health should never be about profit; it must be about people and whānau. We recognise that we can’t do this alone, but being comfortable to share safe space together and have honest conversations about what we can all do better is a great place to start.
IMPBs across the country are eager to engage in conversations with all branches of government, from health to housing. We understand that health alone cannot deliver the answers to whānau wellbeing. Let us unite to strengthen whānau, hapū, iwi, and communities together.
Original Article posted on the Sunday StarTimes: https://www.thepost.co.nz/wellbeing/350447368/we-need-significantly-scaled-maori-health-workforce
Hauora Māori Priorities Summary Report
Our Hauora Māori Priorities Report is an initial step towards understanding the current state of health services and whānau experiences of health service delivery in our rohe. Our Board met together in a full day workshop to work through the findings of the analysis and to determine priorities, guided by the voices of whānau captured in the report. This is work that we will continue to repeat over time as the data from the health system improves, and as we continue to gather specific whānau voice information about the health system. To drive health system change, our role is to utilise and share our Hauora Māori Priorities Reports to collaborate with Te Whatu Ora | Health NZ to address the priorities for Hauora Māori as we work toward achieving high quality community led culturally responsive health care in Te Taura Ora o Waiariki rohe. Key mechanisms for recognition of our priorities are a) embedding the IMPB priorities in the Regional Health and Wellness Plan for Te Manawa Taki as this drives the regional work programme of leaders and their teams within Te Whatu Ora | Health NZ and b) working together at regular session such as the monthly Regional Integration Team (RIT) hui, which involves senior leaders responsible for key parts of the system, noting IMPB Executives are active participants in these working sessions.
To download the PDF, click on the three dots ⋯ and select “Download PDF File.”