CLICK HERE TO READ – April 2026

Kia ora tātou

A month ago, Hauora Taiwhenua hosted the 21st Rural WONCA Conference 2026 in Wellington, integrated with our longstanding rural health conference. With nearly 1,000 attendees from over 40 countries, it was a powerful demonstration of global commitment to improving rural health, despite ongoing challenges in international travel.

We opened with a phenomenal Pōwhiri organised by Te Rōpū Ārahi. The process of the pōwhiri was described for our international audience, and the visual experience and mana were enhanced by the presence of some incredible korowai that we had the privilege of wearing, which had been kindly loaned for the event by Kaumātua Russell Riki and his whānau.

Our keynote presenters were outstanding. Dr Di and Mark Kopua opened with a presentation deeply grounded in Mātauranga Māori, signalling from the outset that this would be a quite different type of conference. Professor Dee Mangin was another clear standout for me, with her precise, evidence-based talk on the value of general practice and continuity of care. Dr Jo Scott-Jones was the recipient of Rural WONCA’s John Macleod Oration Award and gave a thoughtful and humbling presentation that resonated with many attendees. One of my takeaways from his speech was the “vomit principle” – that if you have a good idea, you need to keep sharing it as widely and as often as possible.

The political sessions on the first day were most notable for the fact that at the last-minute, Minister Brown needed to cancel. Minister Doocey stepped in and spoke in support of the six key focus areas within the Aotearoa New Zealand Declaration. While he was unable to commit to the requested actions, he did announce $1 million to support further generalist training for rural GPs and nurse practitioners.

The workshops were humming with talented people from around the world, all coming together with a common passion for rural health and a wealth of knowledge. Our key theme of Whānau Ora ensured a strong focus on indigenous solutions for indigenous people in rural healthcare, and on the importance of listening to and involving communities. This resonated deeply with many indigenous healthcare practitioners who had travelled significant distances to attend and who felt genuinely included and heard during their time with us.

One of the women who had made that trip was a doctor whom I’d met on a bus in South Africa when I had gone out to Cape Town to lobby for Hauora Taiwhenua to hold the conference back in October 2024. She runs a small rural hospital on the border with Mozambique and was telling me how it had seemed almost impossible that she would get to this conference, but almost at the last minute, she had got a sponsorship and committed to the very long trip to get here, leaving her family and hospital behind.

Two others who had managed to get a funded trip were the Inaugural WWPRP FLIGHT Grant Recipients Dewanto Andoko from Indonesia and Manuel Jacob from Kerala, India who had the added benefit of having hosted stays at Hauora Hokianga and Kaikoura Health services, respectively. Including these young rural health leaders from low-income countries was a real pleasure and added to the depth of experience for us all.

There was also a unique opportunity to provide feedback to the World Health Organisation on the draft Global Plan of Action for Indigenous Health, with Theodora Swift Koller attending from Geneva. This session was facilitated by Tania Chamberlain and our Whānau Whānui chapter, reflecting our organisational commitment to grassroots involvement at every level. In addition, Theodora also spoke about rural proofing – something adopted early within rural industries in New Zealand, but which has taken longer to gain traction within health.

Sir Ashley Bloomfield and Sir Colin Tukuitonga were among our other impressive keynote speakers. Equally impressive were the many oral presentations delivered by grassroots rural health clinicians from New Zealand and around the world. The range of parallel sessions was enormous and often made it difficult to decide what to attend. The poster presentations and lightning talks were also extensive and of a very high standard.

Then there was the food. It is not often that you can honestly say conference catering was fantastic, but this was next level. The seafood platter (including oysters) even received a standing ovation when it arrived. The kai reflected our manaakitanga, and we were proud to offer our international guests such a memorable taste of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Music and cultural performances were woven throughout the event, culminating in an unforgettable performance by the Pātea Māori Club that had many of us up participating. Our social events were also extremely well attended, particularly the welcome function at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and the prizegiving dinner at Tākina Wellington Convention and Exhibition Centre. Peter Freeman received the Peter Snow Award, Julia Jones the Te Waka Kotahitanga Award, Stephen Ram the Emerging Rural Researcher Award, and Katelyn Costello the Emerging Rural Educator Award. Our inaugural award in memory of Rhoena Davis was presented to Tania Chamberlain.

Prior to the conference, we also hosted the Rural WONCA Council and Rural WONCA Assembly, which saw the launch of GRACE (Global Rural Health Action Collaboration and Excellence) by Dr Pratyush Kumar, the current President of Rural WONCA. GRACE aims to create a framework that connects and recognises organisations making a difference to rural health worldwide. The Assembly included brief presentations from many international organisations covering a wide range of topics relevant to rural health.

Our journey in developing this conference has been closely connected with Rural WONCA through both Dr Pratyush Kumar and Professor Bruce Chater, the immediate past Chair. We are extremely grateful for their support and enthusiasm for the uniquely Aotearoa approach we wanted to bring to the event. We were also privileged to have Dr Viviana Martinez-Bianchi, President of WONCA World, attend and participate throughout the conference, including finishing with a stay at one of our kaumātua rural pā – an experience she will undoubtedly never forget.

The feedback from the conference has been fantastic; it seems many are still buzzing from what was more of a transformational event than a mere conference. Like most things rural, it has taken a very dedicated team to deliver such a world-class event and a huge thanks to all of you involved; this was certainly a “job well done”. Thank you also to the sponsors whose support made the conference possible.

However, the work does not end here. A key part of any Rural WONCA conference is its legacy, and with the launch of the Aotearoa New Zealand Declaration, we will be shining a light on the solutions that could be actioned for New Zealand and key learnings from this that can be taken to the world stage, particularly with the focus on rural indigenous health solutions to address health equity.

With the elections around the corner, this is an opportunity for politicians from all sides to make rural health a priority and put the actions we have called for into their work plans. As for the rest of us, we all leave feeling invigorated by the power of grassroots rural and the commonality we have, no matter where in the world we work with our shared passion for rural health.

Ngā mihi

Fiona