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Siu Ki Moana

Pacific Health Promotion Action Plan 2022

Health promotion across Aotearoa is changing. Siu Ki Moana – the Pacific Health Promotion Action Plan presents an opportunity to direct what health promotion means for Pacific peoples through a future focused, action plan designed by Pacific, for Pacific.

The Pacific Health Promotion Action Plan 2022 was launched in August 2022. It is a gift for the future health system. It is a map to achieve equity for Pacific communities in health promotion. At its heart is the knowledge that the future of health promotion for Pacific peoples means bringing things back to the community and the family.

Alongside the launch of Siu Ki Moana, community organisation Mapu Maia launched its Tanoa community grants in partnership with Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand. The grants acknowledge and support grass roots Pasifika communities to keep doing the effective work they do to improve health and wellbeing in ways that resonate with their communities. Find out about Tanoa community grants.

The plan deliberately prioritises young Pacific people. As inheritors of the health system and tomorrow’s parents, they have shared their voices and experiences to lay out the map for how to change the way we work, to shape the system into something we can all be proud of - one that achieves equitable health outcomes for Pacific communities and Aotearoa.

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The key shifts

Siu Ki Moana identifies five key shifts that need to happen in health promotion, for Pacific peoples to enjoy the full benefits of equitable health outcomes; 

  1. Pacific Youth create and deliver health messages
  2. Pacific Communities are enabled to advocate for change
  3. Pacific Communities can access funding easily
  4. Health workforce teams are culturally intelligent and connected
  5. Health promotion and service delivery is cohesive and connected.

The name 

Siu Ki Moana is a Tongan phrase, which means ‘to travel, to sail, to fly over deep water’. It connects past and present, and is often used in the traditional Tongan context of ‘Siu ‘i Tahi’. This refers to fishermen and navigators going to the open ocean, beyond the lagoons and reefs, in search of ‘the big catch’.

The name represents the journey of Pacific youth, not only in developing this plan but also in their roles and positions within their aiga, anau, kāinga, magafaoa, matavuvale, kāiga. This recognises Pacific youth as capable leaders who venture out into the vastness of the ocean in search of knowledge and wisdom in the face of alangavaka (sea trouble), before returning home to bring back wisdom for their people to thrive.

The vision

  • supporting Pacific aiga, anau, kāinga, magafaoa, matavuvale, kāiga to self-determine equitable outcomes
  • keeping Pacific worldviews, beliefs and knowledge systems central to health promotion activities
  • weaving together the knowledge and wisdom of Pacific peoples, cultural values and practices
  • upholding the inherent mana and dignity of Pacific peoples in health promotion.

Siu Ki Moana offers advice on how to work towards equitable Pacific health promotion. It also provides insights on where things need to be done differently and actions that need to be taken to accelerate the journey to equitable health outcomes.

Highlights video