Māori Health Strategy building on success of Whānau Ora

Associate Minister of Health Tariana Turia has launched an updated version of He Korowai Oranga - New Zealand’s Māori Health Strategy this morning in Parliament. The strategy builds on the success of the Whānau Ora approach and introduces the concept of Pae Ora.

“He Korowai Oranga already has a proud history. We have seen some gains in Māori health this last decade. The progress of the health targets, the decline of smoking and the success of Whānau Ora have helped shift the focus of the system towards supporting the collective health of families and communities, rather than just treating individuals in isolation,” says Associate Health Minister Tariana Turia.

“He Korowai Oranga builds on the work of Whānau Ora by introducing the concept of Pae Ora, which incorporates three key elements of wellbeing: Mauri Ora - healthy lives; Whānau Ora - healthy families and Wai Ora - healthy environments.”

“Whānau Ora is about strengthening and empowering families and whānau around New Zealand. In order to continue this we also need to address the broader environmental factors that surround whānau and influence their health outcomes. This has been a key focus of the refresh.”

He Korowai Oranga was first launched in November 2002 to set the direction for Māori health development in the health and disability sector.

By introducing Pae Ora, the strategy aims to build on this by more explicitly highlighting the impact of the environment that people live in and the degree to which they are able to access quality health care as other key determinants of health and wellbeing.

Whānau Ora challenges us to think beyond narrow definitions of health and well-being and collaborate together across boundaries as we work to support people to achieve better outcomes across all aspects of life,” says Mrs Turia.

“I’m extremely proud of what has been achieved in recent years. We have come a long way but we still have more to do. While we have seen some gains in Māori health this last decade there are still huge health inequities that must be addressed if progress is to be made. With the refresh of He Korowai Oranga we have a robust framework that will continue to guide Government agencies and health providers as we work together across the system to further improve health outcomes for New Zealand families and whānau. I also expect that in time He Korowai Oranga will support tāngata whenua who are disabled.”

He Korowai Oranga – New Zealand’s Māori Health Strategy is available through the Ministry of Health website: www.health.govt.nz

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