Māori health leaders continue work despite Te Aka Whai Ora closure
Māori health leaders say the kaupapa of Māori leadership in health decisions persists beyond the 2024 disestablishment of Te Aka Whai Ora.
Te Aka Whai Ora, the Māori Health Authority established in 2022, was disestablished in 2024 following the 2023 election. A founding board member argues that while the Crown entity was dissolved, the underlying commitment to Māori leadership in health decision-making continues through other initiatives and networks of health leaders and communities. Health inequities affecting Māori persist, and the article proposes that future institutional arrangements should embed Māori decision-making as an enduring feature rather than attempting to recreate the past authority.
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The Spinoff
Te Aka Whai Ora may be shut down but Māori health leaders are continuing its work
What was disestablished in 2024 was a Crown entity with a name, a board and a budget. The institution of Māori leadership in decisions about hauora Māori is much harder to dismantle, writes founding board member Mataroria Lyndon. When Te…