This is supported in the Te Manu Ola: The Pacific Health Strategy, where feedback from Pasifika reports how access to health services and resources, including mental health support, is not available, accessible or contextual for them.

Pasifika Medical Association member, Dr Evangelene Daniela-Wong is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist with 15 years experience in the New Zealand mental health space, speaks on Pacific issues within mental health services in New Zealand.

“There’s so much research out there around biases and around accessing services for Pacific people in the mental health space.

“In terms of Pacific psychologists out there, we are rarer than rare. Our numbers just do not compare. And our people, and by that I mean all Pacific people are misrepresented in a whole bunch of negative statistics.”

In March of 2023, the Pasifika Medical Association launched the Pacific Mental Health Commissioner, created for the purpose of addressing the inequities that exist in this space for Pacific peoples.

The initiative is delivered by Pasifika Future’s Ngalu Fānifo mental health service and was established with the intent of improving mental health and well-being outcomes for Pacific people, families, and communities.

Initiatives and approaches that are culturally considerate and contextualized have been identified as solutions to the barriers that exist for Pacific people and health services, with Pacific representation in the mental health workforce being a crucial component to this.

Dr Daniela-Wong emphasises the importance of Pacific participation in mainstream health approaches.

“In terms of actually being able to do anything about these statistics, it comes from representation and it comes from us just being ourselves. We need to be occupying these spaces and just getting out there and doing it.”