Te Aka Whai Ora is the primary source of strategy and policy for hauora Māori, leading the identification and monitoring of equitable health outcomes, development of the Māori health workforce, and the direct commissioning of kaupapa Māori services.
Our whāinga goal is to achieve greater Māori participation in the design and delivery of health services for the betterment of all.
We play a critical role in enhancing Māori rangatiratanga, ensuring equitable access to healthcare and supporting whānau to take control of their own health and wellbeing.
Our role is to provide policy and strategy advice to the Board of Te Aka Whai Ora, as well as the Health Ministers, on matters relevant to hauora Māori.
We work in conjunction with Manatū Hauora and Te Whatu Ora, as well as to enable iwi-Māori partnerships boards (IMPBs), Māori health providers, iwi, hapū and Māori communities to achieve Māori health aspirations.
From Pae Ora Act 2022, the reformed health sector is to:
“protect and promote people’s health and wellbeing, including by adopting population health approaches that prevent, reduce, or delay the onset of health needs; undertaking promotional and preventative measures to protect and improve Māori health and wellbeing; working to improve mental and physical health and diagnose and treat mental and physical health problems equitably; collaborating with agencies and organisations to address the wider determinants of health; and undertaking promotional and preventative measures to address the wider determinants of health, including climate change, that adversely affect people’s health”.
