Māori Health Runanga Year in Review
The Māori Health Runanga is the Iwi Relationship Board (IRB), and works in partnership with the Bay of Plenty
District Health Board (DHB). It is a working governance Board, with all eighteen of our region’s iwi represented.
The Board continues to acknowledge the important role of iwi, and therefore clearly looks to the Māori Health
Runanga and the eighteen mandated iwi health representatives to provide both the strategic direction and
connection to the Māori community/grass roots voice on matters and issues important to Māori.
Key achievements of the Māori Health Runanga in the 2012/13 year are:
Institute of Public Administration New Zealand IPANZ Awards - Te Puni Kokiri Award for Excellence in Crown
Māori Relationships.
The IPANZ Awards showcase and highlight the significant contribution of the wider public sector in meeting
the needs of New Zealand and New Zealanders. They recognise and promote excellence in terms of vision,
innovation and the achievement of results, and encourage continuous improvement in services to New
Zealanders. One of the categories in the awards is Te Puni Kokiri Award for Excellence in Crown Māori
Relationships. It is a category that recognises the complex and diverse range of relationships between Māori
and government. The Bay of Plenty DHB Māori Health Planning and Funding team submitted the award with
endorsement from the Runanga, and were successful in winning this category. The submission was entitled Toi
Ora, which outlines the unique structure that has been established within the Bay of Plenty and has developed
over the past twelve years. It is a structure that ensures Māori are involved at all decision-making levels within
the Bay of Plenty DHB, including:
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the Māori Health Runanga (our Treaty partner), at a governance level;
the Māori Health Runanga/Iwi representatives are also on each of the statutory and Board committees, at
a governance level;
Māori Health Planning and Funding General Manager, at an executive level;
Māori Health Planning and Funding unit, at an operational level; and
Regional Māori Health Services at a Provider Arm (hospital services) level
Kaupapa Māori Services at a District Health Board provider level.
This award recognises that leadership and true partnership were instrumental in this success. The structure,
which enables active and meaningful engagement at different levels from a governance level to an operational
level between the DHB and Māori, has produced clear benefits.
Māori Health Plan (MHP)
The MHP has been endorsed by the Runanga on behalf of the Iwi as a key vehicle for Māori health, and
continues to be one of the Runanga’s key mechanisms for monitoring inequalities and highlighting disparities.
The Runanga has focussed on promoting and monitoring the top six priority areas, as this is where there is the
greatest disparity gap.
Runanga delegates recognised the need to go back to Iwi and inform them that “The Runanga’s number one
priority is to work with the Board to reduce health inequalities for Māori, underpinned by He Pou Oranga
Tangata Whenua. The performance of the Runanga/Board is inextricably tied to its ability to reduce Māori
Health disparities in a timely manner”.
Establishing a leadership structure to oversee and monitor performance against the MHP is one of the three
key actions that have been adopted by national GMs Māori Health to elevate the status of MHPs and
accelerate MHP performance. The other two actions are to adopt the Māori Health Plan Dashboard Report and
the Māori Health Champions approach. These three actions adopted by all DHBs will make a significant
contribution to improving Māori Health.
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