Photo: RNZ / Logan Church
The Te Rau Hinengaro: The New Zealand Mental Health Survey (2006), found 47 percent of Pacific people had experienced a mental disorder at some stage during their lifetime, compared with 39.5 percent of the overall New Zealand population.
Pacific people were also less likely to make a mental health visit to a health service.
Wairarapa District Health Board, Hutt Valley DHB and Capital & Coast DHB Pacific peoples health interim director Tofa Suafole Gush initiated the Ta iala Mo le Ola Manuia Mental Health Project in 2019 due to the growing awareness of mental health issues within the Pacific community.
The project began as a partnership between the Hutt Valley District Health Board Pacific Health Directorate and the Samoan Ministers Fellowship Hutt Valley (Mafutaga).