Building stronger connections through Rongoā Māori Conference
Rongoā Māori practitioners across New Zealand are looking forward to coming together in May for a time of collaboration and connection at the inaugural ACC Rongoā Māori Conference.
The inaugural ACC Rongoā Māori Conference in Rotorua will be a celebration of traditional Māori healing and an opportunity for collaboration to support positive health outcomes for whānau and hapori Māori (Māori communities).
The two-day conference aims to bring together rongoā Māori practitioners and health providers within te ao rongoā (the rongoā community) to whakawhanaunga (build relationships) and grow understanding of traditional Māori healing and its place in Aotearoa New Zealand’s health sector.
Our support of the conference comes as part of our commitment to growing access to, and awareness of, rongoā Māori across the health sector.
“We want to bring together our health providers and rongoā practitioners to share, learn and see how we can work together to meet all the needs of our communities,” says Eldon Paea, Head of Māori Health Partnerships for ACC.
Registrations for tickets opened on 21 February and there’s already been strong interest in the event.
“The conference is for anyone who has an interest in traditional Māori healing, mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge), hauora Māori (Māori health) and indigenous health,” Eldon says.
A healing option for all
Rongoā Māori is traditional Māori healing. It includes mirimiri and romiromi (bodywork), whitiwhiti kōrero (support and advice) and karakia (prayer).
ACC has been offering rongoā Māori as a healing option since June 2020 and the growth in that time has been phenomenal.
“Offering rongoā as a rehabilitation service is part of our continuing efforts to deliver equity for Māori,” Eldon says.
“It presents injured Māori, and all New Zealanders, with more choice in their recovery options, and is a positive step towards delivering equity for tangata whenua.”
Eldon Paea, ACC Head of Māori Health Partnerships.
The growth of rongoā Māori
Our research shows Māori are more likely to sustain a serious injury than non-Māori, but less likely to make an injury claim.
Māori clients generally account for 12.5 percent of new claims volumes annually but account for 16.7 percent of the population.
Our data shows rongoā Māori claim volumes almost doubled in the 12 months to January 2024, with 6,016 claims using rongoā.
And it’s not just Māori who are accessing rongoā Māori services – 59 per cent of kiritaki (clients) accessing rongoā Māori are Māori while 41 per cent are non-Māori.
Waikato-based rongoā Māori practitioner Teena Te Maro (Ngāti Porou) says our support for traditional Māori healing has been a huge step forward.
“I’m so grateful to ACC for reviving our taonga as a choice of service to ACC kiritaki (clients), after so many years where it was driven underground,” she says.
“Thanks to ACC, it’s great to give our people access to funded mirimiri. And people are responding to it and accepting of it. It’s not just for Māori, it’s for everyone.”
Rongoā Māori Conference
22 – 23 May
Energy Events Centre, Rotorua
More information is available on the Rongoā Māori Conference website.
