NEW YORK - An evaluation tool is challenging governments and institutions to measure how well they are supporting the health and well-being of Indigenous peoples, using standards defined by Indigenous communities themselves.
The Indigenous Determinants of Health Alliance (IDHA) has released a 20-item scorecard, grounded in Indigenous knowledge, to assess institutional commitment to health equity across three core domains: the health of Mother Earth, cultural revitalisation and decolonisation, and intergenerational trauma.
Launched at the 2025 United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII), the tool was described by forum expert member Geoffrey Roth as a way to “systematically hold institutions accountable.”
Following recommendations made by the Global Indigenous Youth Caucus, a study was conducted in 2023 to identify Indigenous determinants of health.
That study brought together 35 Indigenous scholars from all seven global socio-cultural regions — including Africa, the Arctic, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, North America, and the Pacific — to identify 33 protective and risk factors affecting Indigenous health.
These factors shape the scorecard, which institutions can use to identify gaps, receive targeted recommendations to fund the gaps, and track progress over time.
As the first Indigenous woman to serve as president of the World Federation of Public Health Associations, Rawson-Te Patu views this as a moment to reclaim momentum, following actions by the current coalition Government to the repeal of smoke-free legislation, the disestablishment of Te Aka Whai Ora, the removal of te reo Māori from Te Whatu Ora, the dismantling of cultural safety requirements in the workforce.
“I think for a long time Aotearoa has been doing a really good job in understanding its obligations and responsibilities to Indigenous people,” she said.
“Even though we’ve just been through some huge challenges, it’s a great opportunity to again lean into those learnings that we have been putting in place for over 40 years so that we can support our brothers and sisters internationally.”
Ko ngā mōtika iwi taketake te ito o ngā kaupapa hauora
Kei tōna pūtake, mā te kāri tapeke nei, e koke whakamua ai ngā mātāpono kua whakairotia ki te kirimana mōtika iwi taketake a te Kāhui o te Ao.
He tohunga ronngoā a Allison Kelliher o te iwi Athabaskan nō Alaska, ā, hei tāna ko ngā mōhiotanga tuku iho mō ngā rongoā, he mea pou ki ngā whāinga hauora a ngā iwi taketake.
Hei tā Kelliher, ka noho waenga pū ngā te rohe whenua nei o Alaska, inā rā, e rua rau katoa ngā iwi kei ngā rohe maha, heoi anō, he iti ake te pūtea.
Ahakoa kua whai mana ngā iwi o Alaska, e tika ana me whakapau i te pūtea hei whakapakari i ngā tikanga rongōa taketake, whakarauora reo me te whai whenua hei wāhi whakamahi i te tikanga a ngā iwi taketake.
