There was a time in our recent history where whānau Māori voices in cancer care were structurally silenced - confined to kitchen tables, whānau gatherings and tangihanga speeches. A time when non-Māori defined our needs, aspirations, and cancer care requirements with little to no regard to the realities of whānau Māori.

In this puna kōrero, Hikitia has centered whānau Māori realities as the compass and wayfinder. Throughout the report Lou and Ali have enacted their name Hikitia - to amplify and lift up whānau voices. They did this throughout their approach and were adamant that this wouldn’t just be a collection of thoughts, there had to be action.

As you read the words of this report you will find consistent evidence of system failure. COVID illuminated every crevice and dark corner of our cancer control system. Lack of appointments, communication, culturally appropriate care and restrictions on whānau and hauora practices made whānau cancer journeys even more frightening.

What you will also find in this report is tū tāngata, tū maia and tū kaha. Stories of resilience, and of body, wairua and whānau sovereignty. You will be inspired by how whānau enacted their own tikanga and mana motuhake to sustain their oranga.

COVID pushed the already inequitable Aotearoa health system to its brink, and we know that this type of global phenomenon will not be the last. We must be better prepared, with targeted investment and an unwavering focus on equitable whānau centered responses. The urgency in this report is clear, we must invest in whānau and their wawata now. We must follow their lead.

Nā te whānau te kī.

Moahuia Goza
Ngāti Kauwhata, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Unu.