Te Whānau o Waipareira: What makes Māori-led initiatives work?

Jacqui Harema, Te Whanau o Waipareira lead, and her daughters who are triumphing the frontline to vaccinate their community.

The Ministry of Health announced today that 90 per cent of Waitematā DHB's eligible Māori population are now fully vaccinated.

Up to 59 per cent of the Waitematā Māori community have also received a booster shot.

It marks a significant milestone for Waitematā DHB, as it holds the second biggest Māori population in the region with more than 41,000 people.

Partnered with community leaders, community organisation Te Whānau o Waipareira have facilitated a large Māori led vaccination centre in Henderson, with grand testimonials of their positive impact on the community.

Between November and January, Waipareira were able to vaccinate 140,500 people, including non-Māori. During alert level 4 lock down last year, they were vaccinating up to 2000 people a day.

"Our success factor is that we take it to our community and we connect on a community level," Te Whānau o Waipareira spokeswoman Jacqui Harema told the Herald.

"We've got a big vaccination centre but we also have our mobile van which goes to the areas where we know our whānau live. We'll have coffee, music and kai ready for everyone."

Many Māori have been vaccine hesitant as a result of institutional racism and systemic neglect, which is a kōrero that Harema says is often being held between staff and those unsure of getting vaccinated.

"There have been many obstacles with anti vaxx whānau," Harema said, but Waipareira maintain the same courtesy and manaakitanga towards vaccine hesitant people, as they do with those who support the vaccine.

"We have meaningful conversations, sometimes they have a change of heart and get vaccinated, sometimes they don't. But we don't judge them for that either.

"We base our conversations on whanaungatanga - just treat people the way you'd want to be treated."

However, kaimahi and staff on the frontline who reflect the people of the communities, from a cultural lens and a community lens, has been proven to be impactful.

Māori communities are more likely to respond to people in positions who reflect them and understand them. The trained vaccination staff also range from rangatahi to adult.

Harema is calling on the Government and Ministry of Health to trust Māori community leaders and their ability to connect with Māori people to ensure vaccination rates go up, a for Māori by Māori approach.

"All the kaimahi (staff) are from here, they know the people that live here, they reflect the people that live here, they know the history, and everyone is treated as a member of the family and not just another number.

"We came up with a model and pitched it to the Ministry of Health and got no response. We had a lot of catching up to do.

"Our numbers would've been at 90 per cent way earlier than they are now."

"We as Māori know best how to work with our own, we as Māori within the community know how to work with our community. We need to be allowed to do that so we can get on with it."

Waitematā DHB CEO Dr Dale Bramley said the Māori community have helped "get us across the line".

"We also acknowledge the work of Te Hā Oranga, providing outreach to our rural area of Waitematā and The Fono for their incredible vaccination efforts in Henderson and at Westgate.

"It's all about building relationships and trust – and connecting to whānau in ways that have meaning to them. The work of our community providers has been invaluable in this regard."