A new action plan for Pacific people has been launched by Associate Health Minister Jenny Salesa.

“Ola Manuia – the Pacific Health and Wellbeing Action Plan for 2020-2025 is about driving more effective and equitable health outcomes for thousands of Pacific New Zealanders who call this country home,” Jenny Salesa says.

“New Zealand’s Pacific peoples make up a large portion of the country’s essential workers – especially in the health and disability workforce where they literally hold many of New Zealand’s most vulnerable people in their care - yet, they themselves remain consistently over-represented across all vulnerability indicators for health and wellbeing.

"These vulnerable groups are the people Ola Manuia aims to support.

“The strength and resilience of New Zealand’s Pacific communities was strongly highlighted in the country’s response to the Covid-19 outbreak. The commitment from Pacific individuals, families and communities to do whatever it takes to keep others safe has been deeply inspiring.

“Ola Manuia matches that with an equal level of commitment from our health and disability system. Developed with strong input from Pacific communities across New Zealand it builds on the momentum of what's working well and provides clarity about where and how we can improve Pacific health outcomes,” Jenny Salesa says.

"Achieving Pacific health equity is about addressing causes not just symptoms.  It is about improving how Pacific people are treated when they access services and it is about getting the level of engagement, the quality of care and the modes of delivery, right.

“Ola Manuia highlights the range of factors that impact on Pacific peoples’ health and the need for more effective collaboration both within the health and disability system and across the health, housing, employment, education and social service sectors.

“The current inequities we see in Pacific health and wellbeing outcomes have no place in this country’s future. Ola Manuia challenges us to do things differently in order to realise the best outcomes for Pacific peoples and charts a key part of the course we must follow to achieve a more just, more equitable future together,” Jenny Sales says.

View the action plan here.