COVID-19 and the disproportionate harms of gambling, alcohol and the obesogenic environment on Māori.

Public Rāhui and Road Blocks in Aotearoa: Navigating Iwi/Hapū Perspectives and Mana Motuhake

“…Māori are extremely at risk of suffering mass fatalities from COVID.-19 A high proportion of Māori have what are regarded by medical institutions as major risk factors, such as obesity, respiratory and heart illness; these health risk statistics are far higher-often more than twice higher-for Māori than for Pākehā (Espiner, 2020;Ngata, 2020). This is often noted as a direct result of intergenerational poverty incurred by colonial acts such as land alienation (Durie, 2011;Anderson et al, 2015).…”

“…This is often noted as a direct result of intergenerational poverty incurred by colonial acts such as land alienation (Durie, 2011;Anderson et al, 2015). This is compounded by geographical isolation from the mainstream health system for Māori in rural contexts, in a medical system governed centrally by the Crown, that often does not consider Māori rights or needs (Espiner, 2020), despite Te Tiriti. It is also well-known that there have been no significant government efforts to protect Māori anymore than other parts of the general population 'on the ground' in this last year from COVID-19-despite unfulfilled promises from government Māori leaders to roll-out vaccinations for Māori quickly.…”