A new documentary shows the efforts of Kiwis and Australians in Niue eradicating hepatitis from its shores. Niue is about to become the first Pacific Island country to eliminate hepatitis B and advocates hope to take the successful campaign to other Pacific Islands.
Down With Hepatitis was made over a few weeks, sharing the journey of medical practitioners, whānau who had been diagnosed, and volunteers.
But the hepatitis campaign began earlier, having started around the beginning of Covid-19 as a joint project between Niuie’s health department and a.non-government health project organisation, Global Health New Zealand (GHNZ).
Hazel Heal, the lead producer of Down With Hepatitis and co-founder of GHNZ, has herself had a 30-year journey with Hepatitis C.
Kaye-Maree Dunn (Te Rarawa, Ngāpuhi, Ngāi Te Rangikoianaake, Ngāti Mahanga me Ngāi Tāmanuhiri) has been friends with her for years and said Heal faced a lot of discrimination, which led her to help others.
“[It] has kind of turned her in this fireball of passion to ensure that no one else goes through the same challenging journey.”
Dunn joined the kaupapa as a producer, having admitted she didn’t know much about hepatitis until she started conducting interviews for the documentary.
She said many Pacific families didn’t know what the sickness was, with some even believing it to be a curse.
“They tend to push their families out of the village and they have to die and suffer alone and in pain.
“That’s not what happened in Niue. But that’s what’s happened in other Pacific countries some of the doctors I interviewed said.”
She said having tough conversations with Pacifica and Māori families was the next stage to wooden the project beyond Niue.
“I think that having those conversations here in Aotearoa among the different Pacific communities, they can also carry that conversation back home to their communities.
“Alongside that, what does hepatitis look like for our whānau, whānau Māori who may not even know that they are carriers or may not be getting the right kind of treatment.
“If we look at our stats with whānau Māori, and if those stats are high, then it means that perhaps we need to look a bit deeper at our hepatitis and what that looks like for our whānau as well.”
Figures from Health NZ show that in 2023, 21 per cent of new hepatitis B cases and 25 per cent of new hepatitis C cases were among Māori, despite Māori comprising only 19.6 per cent of Aotearoa’s population.
Although Niue has nearly eradicated hepatitis B, Dunn said more work would be done across the Pacific.
“One particular kaupapa that we’re exploring is the development of an easier pathway for access to pharmaceutical drugs in the Pacific.
“We’re exploring a range of different options and ideas, which I’m very excited about, also looking at ways to digitise the training so that more health workers across the Pacific can learn more about hepatitis, how to treat, how to support.
“It’s something that I’m also very excited that Hazel and her team will be producing as a result of our work in Niue.”
