Pūtahi Manawa will be at the heart of Waitangi Day Celebrations.

Published: 29 January 2025

Pūtahi Manawa, Healthy Hearts for Aotearoa New Zealand will participate in this year’s Waitangi Day commemorations at Waitangi.

Dr Karen Brewer, Pūtahi Manawa Co-Director Māori says having a presence at Waitangi on Waitangi Day was humbling.

“We are humbled to be part of such an important kaupapa. Waitangi Day is a time for us all to come together, he kanohi kitea, acknowledge our shared history, and envision a future built on mutual respect and improved understanding. We are looking forward to being at Waitangi and meeting whānau and kaimahi in the Hauora space”

Joe Pihema (Ngāti Whatua ) Pou Tikanga Pūtahi Manawa says it was especially important for the heart health organisation to be at Waitangi this year, going directly to the community that it serves. 

“As a Tiriti-led kaupapa, it is of the utmost importance for Pūtahi Manawa to be at Waitangi. 

“An essential element of Te Tiriti is partnership, which Pūtahi Manawa strives to achieve in our policy, practice, and networks. For us, heart-health equity for Māori and Pacific People must be the starting point -  not the goal.” 

Pūtahi Manawa researchers, students, and staff are set to engage with Waitangi Day visitors through interactive displays and demonstrations designed to build greater awareness of heart health, and also activities especially for tamariki. 

University of Auckland Research fellow Debbie Zhao will give Waitangi Day visitors the rare opportunity to see a live beating heart using a small ultrasound machine. Using images of the heart, she hopes to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the ranges for size, mass and volumes of what is considered “normal’ for Māori and Pacific peoples. Currently, these are only defined for European populations, and Dr Zhao is working to change this.

“These reference values are extremely important for clinical decision-making, and the use of non-representative guidelines can result in missed diagnoses and delayed treatment. There is a critical and urgent need to establish appropriate normative reference values for heart assessment dedicated to Māori and Pacific Peoples.” says Dr Zhao. 

University of Auckland researcher, Dr Fiona McBryde will also be at Waitangi with an activity on blood pressure. Te Hononga o Tāmaki me Hoturoa will provide clinical support for the activities on the day.

Māori university students who recently completed a summer research programme with Pūtahi Manawa are also excited to be among the celebrations of Waitangi, including University of Auckland Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery student, Noah Appleby(Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki).

“I've never been a part of any of the outreach events with Pūtahi Manawa. They always look like great events, a way that I could give back to such an amazing rōpū, and bring Pūtahi Manawa to more people. This event, in particular, would be awesome to be a part of as it is at Waitangi for Waitangi Day, something that I have wanted to attend for years now and never had the opportunity. Given our current political climate, being there in any capacity this year is super important.”

Pūtahi Manawa will be in the Hauora section at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds on the 6th of February.