Whānau Ora

Whānau Ora (Māori: family health) is a major contemporary indigenous health initiative in New Zealand driven by Māori cultural values. Its core goal is to empower communities and extended families (whānau) to support families within the community context rather than individuals within an institutional context.

Whānau Ora evolved out of the coalition between the National and Māori parties after the 2008 general election^[1][2] and became a cornerstone of the coalition agreement between them after the 2011 general election.^[3][4] Te Puni Kōkiri, (the Ministry for Māori Development), states that:

Whānau Ora is an inclusive approach to providing services and opportunities to whānau across New Zealand. It empowers whānau as a whole, rather than focusing separately on individual whānau members and their problems.^[5]

Tariana Turia was the Minister Responsible for Whānau Ora in the 50th New Zealand Parliament.^[6][7]

The Māori Party defines Whānau Ora at some length.^[8]

Prior to the health initiative, Whānau Ora was the name of the Māori health awards.^[9]

Criticism

The programme has been criticised for having hard to define and impossible to measure specific outputs;^[10][11][12] as well as a disproportionate amount of funding being spent in Turias' electorate.^[13]

MP Winston Peters has been a vocal opponent of the program.^[13][14]

The longest-established national Māori health organisation, the Māori Women’s Welfare League did not choose to participate in Whānau Ora, but some regional leaders are involved. The League operates a parenting skills course called Whanau Toko i te Ora which is unrelated to Whānau Ora.^[15]

References

Many sources spell Whānau Ora without the macron for technical reasons.