The Post: Fixing Māori health inequities demands system change, not tweaks
Louisa Wall lays it out plainly in The Post: Fixing Māori health inequities will take more than small adjustments. It requires a system change.
Drawing on new research led by Professor Michael Baker, her piece highlights how many Māori are living with multiple, overlapping health challenges shaped by housing, income, access to care, and a system that isn’t designed to respond to that complexity.
The research calls this a “syndemic”. For Māori, it’s everyday reality.
This is not a failure of Māori communities. It’s a failure of the system.
When people are managing multiple conditions, short appointments, fragmented services, and underfunding aren’t just inefficient, they’re unsafe. The result is predictable: preventable illness, avoidable harm, and inequities that continue to widen.
This is why Kaitiaki Hauora is calling for:
• Fund public health properly – so everyone gets care when they need it.
• Honour Te Tiriti – ensuring Māori lead on equity in the health system.
• Keep healthcare public – so care stays for people, not profit.
We already know what needs to change. What’s missing is action from those with the power to make it happen.
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