The government has announced that the interim Māori Health Authority will receive $22 million in its first round of funding.
The Māori Health Authority’s purpose is to provide targeted health services to Māori to ensure equitable health outcomes are achieved. This will occur as the government dumps the 20 district health boards across New Zealand in favour of a single organisation called Health New Zealand.
Both Health New Zealand and the Māori Health Authority are to be fully commissioned and made permanent entities in July.
This morning Health Minister (Māori) Peeni Henare said that the formation of this organisation was to address and fix the “disproportionate health outcomes that Māori face”.
Henare also highlighted that Māori die “seven years younger than other population groups”.
The $22 million will be used for Mātauranga Maori initiatives and services, Māori services within innovation and sustainability, support of kaupapa Māori solutions to population health, the expansion of rongoā services, further support and development of the Māori workforce, national collaboration of projects and the establishment of iwi-Maori partnership boards.
Health Minister Andrew Little said: “We have to do things differently.”
"Too many Māori are missing out, turning up to hospitals in crisis where, if they could access health services much earlier and made sense, then that would make a difference”.
“This is not just an exciting future but actually a future where everybody should get the healthcare they need because nothing less should happen.”