Only one of the 20 district health boards is hitting a target to screen Maori women for cervical cancer.
The figures are in the latest published Maori heath performance data, the Maori Health Plan Indicators.
Maori Health executive director Riki Nia Nia. Photo: RNZ / Gareth Thomas
A cross-DHB Maori health leadership group - Te Tumu Whakarae - warns unless there are significant improvements, most boards won't achieve the goal of screening 80 percent of wahine.
The worst performer is South Canterbury. The best is Wairarapa, which leads the way for cervical cancer checks.
Executive director of Maori Health for three Lower North Island DHBs, Riki Nia Nia, says the region is a beacon for other health boards.
He says Wairarapa is doing extremely well in delivering services to Maori women and achieving national targets.
Riki Nia Nia says other DHBs can learn from the way Wairarapa operates.