Since Rako Science was established in September 2020 we have worked to ensure our systems were open and accessible so that we could partner with iwi, Māori, communities and diverse workforces.
It is universally accepted that one of the many reasons behind the poor provision of healthcare to Māori and Pasifika is the perennial problem of inaccessibility. This was our challenge. We designed Rako's collection data systems, standard operating procedures and training so that they could be taken to the smaller cities and towns and the remotest parts of New Zealand by Māori for Māori and by communities for communities.
We could not be more proud of our partnerships with Whānau Ora through Te Whānau o Waipareira in Auckland and with Iwi and Māori health providers, Ngāti Ruanui, Tui Ora and Te Aranga in Taranaki and Tupoho Trust in Whanganui. Since the Delta outbreak commenced last year, these leaders and kaimahi of their communities are working beyond the limits of endurance to protect their people and are leveraging Rako's testing systems.
We give them our Aroha and here is a great story by Te Rina Kowhai from Newshub featuring the indefatigable and hugely talented, Lance Norman - pictured above and the story is linked here: Coronavirus: Whānau Ora giving daily saliva tests to health providers to prevent staff from spreading COVID-19 in the workplace | Newshub