Research highlights how infectious diseases amplify already entrenched inequities.

Te Puni Kōkiri responded to health inequities for Māori by establishing the Māori Communities COVID-19 Fund (MCCF) in 2021.

By September 2021, it had become clear that using mainstream processes was proving difficult to reach Māori communities effectively and urgent action was needed to increase Māori vaccination levels to protect the health and lives of whānau.

We leveraged our relationships with Māori organisations to initiate a whānau centred process. This involved networks of community based kaupapa Māori providers reaching and vaccinating large numbers of people.

As a result, between October 2021 and June 2022, the percentage of Māori vaccinated rose from 69 percent to 91 percent for the first dose and from 49 percent to 88 percent for the second.

Māori employment – impact of COVID-19, July 2020

Te Puni Kōkiri is leading a data and analytics programme which began in March 2020 to help understand the potential impact of COVID-19 on Māori. Economic Impact of COVID-19 is a summary of the modelling work completed in June 2020 that focuses on the predicted impact of COVID-19 on Māori employment. Te Puni Kōkiri commissioned Ernst & Young to generate the data and analytics used in this summary report.

Joint COVID-19 Case Study with NIAA

In March 2020, the Australian and the Aotearoa New Zealand Governments initiated their domestic responses to the COVID19 pandemic. Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand Domestic Responses to COVID-19 from March 2020 – July 2021 details the response measures both governments implemented from early 2020 to July 2021 and the effect they had on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Māori.