The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists and Kāpo Māori Aotearoa New Zealand have partnered to address the stark inequities Māori face when it comes to eye health.
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RANZCO and Kāpo Māori Aotearoa, which supports blind and visually impaired Māori, signed the memorandum of understanding, Tātou Pounamu, last week.
"It plans to implement a range of measures including acting on health recommendations from the Waitangi Tribunal, bringing more Māori into ophthalmology, and increasing the number of Māori ophthalmologists."
According to RANZCO, Māori are 38.7 percent less likely to wear corrective lenses than non-Māori. If they do wear corrective lenses, Māori are 3.9 percent more likely than non-Māori to find it difficult to see newspaper print well enough to read it and to find it difficult to see someone's face clearly across a room.
Māori are also up to twice as likely to develop cataracts and other lens disorders up to the age of 84.
"There is a need to address disparities, and the college would really like to do that," Māori and Pasifika Health Committee director and chair Dr Justin Mora said.
"We need to do that with support from Māori in a true partnership; the desire to work with Kāpo Māori Aotearoa to develop plans to improve eye health equity," he said.
Mora said the memorandum started out as a Te Tiriti o Waitangi Action Plan.
"Ultimately, the long-term goal is to create an eye health service that is more acceptable to delivering service to Māori," he said.
RANZCO is committed to building a relationship that is informed, guided by and practices Māori principles and values, including rangatiratanga, kaitiakitanga. and manaakitanga.
Kāpo Māori Aotearoa New Zealand chief executive Chrissie Cowan said it was excited to work in partnership with RANZCO to develop a Māori-centred approach that improved Māori eye health and outcomes in Aotearoa.
"The commitment we have each made today signals a positive step in the right direction to achieving our aspirations," she said.
Cowan said although the work program between KMA and RANZCO was yet to be finalised, plans were already in action in order to produce tangible outcomes.
"The whole principle of manaakitanga, of caring - from the time a person enters a DHB or private clinic - that, right from the beginning, those practices and principles are reflected in a practical way," she said.
Cowan said the organisations had the ability to use their respective networks to lobby for better Māori eye health outcomes, which she described as "very poor".
For KMA and RANZCO, the end goal is for all New Zealanders to have access to regular eye health checks at all ages in Aotearoa.
"There are a lot of sight conditions that, if caught early, can be turned around," Cowan said.
"We have the opportunity to influence care around this. Eye health is not just going to an optometrist, it's more than that - it's educating people on how to care for their eyes."
The Tātou Pounamu is valid for three years, effective immediately. It will also be reviewed in its final year of the current duration.