Legacy work – leading the Māori Health Authority Elizabeth Brown | Senior Communications Advisor
Going back through the generations in Riana Manuel’s husband’s family, you won’t find a man who has lived much past 50 due to cardiovascular disease and decades of poor health. It is that kind of statistic that lies at the heart of health inequity for Māori and one that the head of the new Māori Health Authority/Te Mana Hauora Māori is out to change. Riana (Ngāti Pūkenga, Ngāti Maru and Ngāti Kahungunu) describes her new role and what the Māori Health Authority is about to embark on, as legacy work.
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THE SPECIALIST | JUNE 2022
“The aim is to save lives of people who don’t necessarily need to die seven years before others in their communities,” she says. Riana has seen the health system through several lenses. She trained and worked for many years as a nurse. More recently she led Te Korowai Hauora o Hauraki and the Hauraki Primary Health Organisation.
