Project teams, community leaders, clinicians and Pacific researchers recently gathered for Le Alamea Amata - the inaugural gathering of the five Pacific-led projects supported through the $2 million Le Alamea Pūtahi Manawa Fund. 

Amata, the Samoan word for “beginning”, reflects the start of a shared journey to advance Pacific cardiovascular health through research excellence, community leadership and innovation. 

Le Alamea Pūtahi Manawa is a Pacific-governed innovation fund established by the Pūtahi Manawa Pacific Leadership Team to invest in Pacific-led solutions for cardiovascular health. The fund supports Pacific communities, organisations, researchers and clinicians to lead innovative, culturally grounded approaches that reflect the priorities, strengths and aspirations of Pacific peoples. 

Established, designed and governed by the Pūtahi Manawa Pacific Leadership Team, Le Alamea represents a shift towards Pacific-led investment, where communities are trusted to lead the development, implementation and translation of solutions that matter most to Pacific peoples.

Guided by the Samoan proverb, “E fofo le alamea le alamea” - the alamea heals itself - the fund embodies the principle that Pacific communities hold the knowledge, relationship and leadership needed to create lasting change. 

“Le Alamea Pūtahi Manawa reflects our commitment to research led by, with and for our communities. By investing in Pacific leadership from the beginning, we strengthen the science by grounding it in community knowledge, trusted relationships and lived experience. We ensure that research is not only excellent, but capable of being translated into meaningful, lasting improvement in Pacific cardiovascular health” 

            - Soteria Ieremia, Co-Director Pacific, Pūtahi Manawa

Meet the Le Alamea Pūtahi Manawa projects

Heartstrings Heritage: Learning from Pacific Family Stories

Host Organisation: Mana Pacific Consultants

Led by Professor Tracie Mafile’o (Tonga: Te’ekiu), this project explores how Pacific family stories, relationships and intergenerational knowledge strengthen resilience and heart health. Through talanoa, video resources and community workshops, the project will return this knowledge to Pacific families and health providers in culturally meaningful ways. 

“We quickly noticed that us, our kids, and our parents all have different generational strategies for how best to look after a family member who has a heart condition, and we wanted to capture these perspectives to amplify this knowledge across the generations.”

            - Fa'aeafale'upolu Samuelu, Investigator

Impacting Rheumatic Fever and Rheumatic Heart Disease Through an Arts-Health Model

Host organisation: The Black Grace Trust

Led by Neil Ieremia and James Wasmer, this project harnesses storytelling, performance, music, and dance to engage Pacific communities in rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease prevention. Supported also by Sonorus Australia creators of an AI sonography device. Informed by Neil Ieremia’s lived experience with rheumatic heart disease, the project will develop performances, film, educational resources and immersive experiences that reframe awareness through Pacific culture and creativity. 

“I’m amazed that we still don’t have a handle on rheumatic heart disease in this country. For Black Grace, and for me, the arts have always been a vehicle to serve our communities, and I want to harness the power of the arts to change our community’s experience of this terrible condition.”

            - Neil Ieremia

Tiritiria tō tātou vaevae ki mua - Together, We walk towards better heart health:

A Tauranga Moana Cook Islands Heart Health Access Programme

Host Organisation: Pacific Island Community Trust Bay of Plenty (PICT BOP)

Recognising the unique cardiovascular health challenges experienced by Cook Islanders living in Aotearoa New Zealand, this community-led initiative aims to reduce barriers to physical activity by creating culturally meaningful pathways to community sport, connection, and wellbeing.

"We want to increase access for our community to spaces where people can connect, collaborate and become champions for physical activity in their own way."
                  - Bevan Rakoia

Fatu na Totō: Co-designing Heart Health Knowledge with Samoan Women

Host Organisation: Waipapa Taumata Rau | University of Auckland

Building on research with more than 100 Samoan women, Amy Maslen-Miller is exploring how culture, food and genetics influence heart health. The project will co-create a book, documentary and community resources that return knowledge to Pacific communities in ways that honour women's stories while strengthening heart health literacy.

"Fatu na Totō speaks of determination, hope and life even in difficult times. At its heart, this project is about tautua (service) and fesuiaʻi (reciprocity): returning knowledge to Pacific communities in ways that honour their stories and strengthen their wisdom."
            - Amy Maslen-Miller

Improving Heart Health Through Culturally-centred AI Nutrition Coaching

Host Organisation: Moana Connect and Pacific Health Service Hutt Valley

Led by Dr Amio Matenga Ikihele and Candice Apelu Mariner, this project will adapt an AI-powered Nutrition Coach into Gagana Sāmoa and Lea Faka-Tonga, making culturally tailored nutrition support more accessible for Pacific peoples living with long-term conditions. The project demonstrates how emerging technologies can be adapted under Pacific leadership to strengthen culturally responsive models of care.

"We already have the tool, and now we want to make it personalised and specific to our community, capturing Pacific foods and integrating Pacific-specific health markers."
            - Candice Apelu Mariner

Collectively, these five projects demonstrate what becomes possible when Pacific communities lead. They span family storytelling, arts and culture, physical activity, nutrition, digital innovation and community knowledge, and share a common purpose: creating healthier futures through Pacific-led solutions grounded in culture, community leadership and research excellence.

While Le Alamea Amata marked the beginning of these five projects, it also reflects a new way of investing in Pacific heart health innovation - one that trusts Pacific communities to lead, strengthens research through Pacific knowledge and leadership, and creates the conditions for lasting improvements in cardiovascular health.