Te Aho o Te Kahu Releases Reports on Whānau Māori Affected by Cancer

Kia ora koutou

I am excited to let you all know that today Te Aho o Te Kahu has released three reports from the series of community hui we hosted around the motu in 2021.

Māori living in Aotearoa are disproportionately and inequitably affected by cancer. Māori are approximately 20 percent more likely to develop cancer than non-Māori, and are twice as likely to die from cancer. There are inequities at every step of the cancer continuum. As an equity-led Agency we are committed to identifying and eliminating these inequities.

To better understand the lived experiences of whānau Māori, we partnered with mana whenua and local health organisations to hold 13 community hui across the motu. Collectively, the Agency spoke with more than 2,500 whānau Māori. This included patients and whānau, as well as Māori working in cancer care and the wider health and social sectors. Thank you to the whānau who shared their taonga at the hui. I want to acknowledge the barriers, challenges and mamae that has been experienced in so many cancer journeys. I am humbled by your courage and determination to make things better for those in the future. Ngā mihi nui.

Since the hui series ended, we have analysed the themes and insights identified by whānau, and created three reports – now available on our website (www.teaho.govt.nz/publications/hui-reports) in English and te reo Māori. Each report covers a different aspect of the hui: what we heard from whānau Māori, how we designed and deliver the hui, and what the health system is doing in response to the insights shared.

My thanks to everyone who attended these hui, and to the dozens of local and national organisations that supported this kaupapa. These reports will become a cornerstone of our work at the Agency – we will embed these insights into our work and share them widely with the agencies designing our new health system. We will work alongside health entities to support the utilisation of these insights and to ensure that this taonga can make a difference for whānau affected by cancer.

If you would like to find out more about the reports and how they will be used please email us at info@teaho.govt.nz.

He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tāngata, he tāngata, he tāngata. What is the most important thing in this world? It is people, it is people, it is people.

Ngā mihi

Nicola Hill, Acting Chief Executive Te Aho o Te Kahu