NEW-ZEALAND MAORI WOMENS HEALTH - STATUS AND SELF-HELP ACTION IN THE 1980S

The indigenous Maori population of New Zealand has experienced improvements in health in recent decades but vis-à-vis the non-Maori segment of the population, Maori, and Maori women in particular, continue to be disadvantaged. The situation became the focus of attention during the 1980s. Among efforts to improve it, a broad-based self-help campaign initiated by Maori leaders, organizations and health professionals emerged as important. This paper documents the current status of Maori women’s health and examines health-related self-help activities on the part of the Maori Women’s Welfare League, the leading Maori women’s organization. The League has taken a leading role in the self-help campaign, declared a Decade of Health for 1985-1995, and adopted a program of action that could help to significantly improve the status of Maori health. © 1991 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.