A huge mihi to Āti Awa Toa Hauora Iwi Māori Partnership Board following the release of Whaitua this week.
Whaitua is an online mapping tool with national coverage that visualises critical information about whānau households and their communities across the social and economic determinants of health. This includes the prevalence of liquor stores, vape shops, fast-food outlets, housing conditions, environmental degradation and healthcare access points. The platform equips whānau, iwi and communities with precise, local-level insights to help raise whānau voice and improve policies that impact whānau.
Whaitua has been developed by the Āti Awa Toa Hauora IMPB in collaboration with Te Tāhū Hauora (Health Quality & Safety Commission) and with early input from Te Karu o Te Ika Poari Hauora IMPB. The tool is presented with the collective support of all IMPBs across Aotearoa, including Te Kāhui Hauora, enabling iwi and communities to access and use this valuable data.
“Our dual launch coincides with the end of Matariki season, a significant time for reflection and renewal, marking a collective commitment to creating healthier, safer communities for current and future generations,” said Hikitia Ropata, Āti Awa Toa Hauora Iwi Māori Partnership Board’s Manahautū.
“We are indebted to the support of our mana whenua iwi, Te Āti Awa ki te Upoko a Māui, Āti Awa ki Whakarongotai and Ngāti Toa Rangatira. With special thanks to the team at Āti Awa Toa FM.”
“Too often, Māori communities carry the blame for conditions we never created. These resources we launch today will help raise our whānau voices, allowing us to tell our own stories through our own data. It’s about tino rangatiratanga and our right to self-determination and meaningful change.”
To launch Whaitua, Āti Awa Toa Hauora Iwi Māori Partnership Board has launched a ‘Flip the Facts’ social media campaign, inviting all whānau from their takiwā as well as whānau from across Aotearoa to jump online, see the data story of their own neighbourhood and challenge those things that need to change.