Spotlight on tackling Māori oral health inequities
ational symposium to put spotlight on tackling Māori oral health inequities
Some of Aotearoa’s most influential
Māori health leaders and health equity experts will gather
next week to discuss ways to urgently address the
country’s inequitable oral health system.
The Māori Oral Health Equity Symposium will be held on October 3 and 4 in Wellington at Te Wharewaka o Pōneke.
The
event aims to generate critical discussion and wide-ranging
solutions that results in an equity-focused action
plan.
“There will be a
strong emphasis on the role of Māori-led solutions, and
Māori oral health providers, delivering culturally safe and
clinically competent oral health services that benefit
everyone,” says Dr Justin Wall, who chairs the Māori Oral
Health Quality Improvement Group – the hosts of the
symposium.
Associate Minister of Health (Māori) and Whānau Ora Minister Peeni Henare will launch the symposium by giving the opening address.
Other speakers during the two-day event will include Dr Moana Jackson, Professor Peter Crampton, Professor Louise Signal and John Whaanga (Deputy Director-General, Māori at the Ministry of Health).
The symposium will also offer attendees a chance
to visit a local dental facility in Cannons Creek, run by
Ora Toa (a Māori PHO), to see what equitable Māori oral
health care provision looks like in action.