Our World Indigenous Cancer Conference Recap page is now LIVE!
An amazing highlight reel, official conference photos, podcast sessions, full plenary sessions, and W.I.C.C 2026 news - all found in one place.
Nau mai, haere mai
Welcome to Hei Āhuru Mōwai
We are a network of Māori cancer specialists, researchers, and advocates committed to rangatiratanga in cancer control. Our mission is to eliminate inequities between Māori and non-Māori and improve cancer outcomes for whānau Māori across Aotearoa.
We focus on driving impactful cancer research, addressing system-level challenges, and collaborating with Māori leaders across the health sector to create lasting change.
THE ISSUE
Cancer does not fall evenly in Aotearoa. Māori are around 1.6 times more likely to die from cancer than other New Zealanders, and 20% more likely to be diagnosed in the first place. Behind those numbers are whānau who are diagnosed later, who meet a health system that has not always been a safe place for Māori, and who carry the weight of cost, distance and institutional racism on top of the illness itself.
The name Hei Āhuru Mōwai means a sheltered haven. For whānau facing cancer, that shelter is exactly what we exist to provide. We hold a space where care is grounded in tikanga, where whānau voice leads, and where being Māori is never a barrier to the best possible care.
This is the unfairness we are here to change, and we have been changing it.
SUPPORT OUR KAUPAPA
Join the movement for tino rangatiratanga in cancer control.
Hei Āhuru Mōwai is the national network of Māori cancer specialists, researchers and advocates working every day to eliminate cancer inequities for whānau. Your koha keeps this mahi going.
