Review of the equity response to COVID-19

Client: The Ministry of Health 

Challenge
With several waves of COVID-19 having swept through New Zealand, the Ministry wanted to take an equity lens and understand what could be done to reduce inequities for Māori, Pasifika and people with disabilities during future pandemics.

What we did
Te Rau Ora partnered with WēBē to determine the adequacy of the Ministry’s equity response to COVID-19. We interviewed over 40 whānau Māori, Pasifika and people with disabilities to understand their needs, concerns and priorities related to COVID-19, what they thought of the Ministry’s response, and to uncover positive stories that the Ministry could learn from. We conducted two sense-making hui to agree on the key themes. We produced a final slide deck and some creative case studies for the Ministry.

Outcome
We uncovered many themes relevant to the heart of equity and made 10 recommendations on what the Ministry should do to improve equity in any future pandemics.

Key take-aways
We take an equity lens in all our projects and have experience in partnering with Māori and putting equity directly at the centre of our research projects. We have experience engaging with disadvantaged communities and distilling policy and service implications for the Ministry of Health.