Mō Mātou
Partnerships
Changing a cancer system takes more than one organisation. The work below is done alongside government agencies, clinicians, researchers, iwi and hapū, and the charities whānau already turn to.
Te Aho o Te Kahu
Te Aho o Te Kahu, the Cancer Control Agency, sets the national direction for cancer care in Aotearoa. Its New Zealand Cancer Action Plan 2026–2029 names Hei Āhuru Mōwai directly, both as part of the leadership shaping how the system responds to Māori, and as a partner in the work of building the Māori cancer research workforce.
“Hei Āhuru Mōwai, the national Māori cancer leadership network, plays a pivotal role in this transformation. Its members provide strategic guidance and advocacy to ensure that Māori perspectives are embedded across the cancer control continuum, from prevention and early detection to treatment and survivorship.”
The Plan commits the Agency to growing and supporting the Māori cancer research workforce in partnership with Hei Āhuru Mōwai, alongside Māori health leaders, iwi, hapū, research institutions and the wider cancer sector.
Te Kāhui Matepukupuku o Aotearoa
Hei Āhuru Mōwai partners with the Cancer Society of New Zealand to award the Māori Cancer Researcher Awards, supporting Māori researchers at Masters, PhD and early-career stages.
Growing the number of Māori researchers working in cancer is one of the practical ways the disparities whānau experience get addressed, because the questions that get asked depend on who is asking them.
Partners over the years
These organisations are named in Hei Āhuru Mōwai’s annual reports and pānui as partners, funders and supporters of its work.
Each description was written for this site from those documents. It is not the partner’s own wording, and their websites say more about what they do.
Current partners
As named in the 2025 Annual Report, for the year to 30 June 2025.
Te Aho o Te Kahu, Cancer Control Agency
Its New Zealand Cancer Action Plan 2026–2029 names Hei Āhuru Mōwai as a partner in growing the Māori cancer research workforce, and it supported the 2026 World Indigenous Cancer Conference.
Health New Zealand, Te Whatu Ora
Named in the 2024 Annual Report as a strong partner in improving cancer outcomes, it worked with Hei Āhuru Mōwai that year to bring Māori voices into the rollout of newly funded cancer medicines.
Te Rau Ora
Sat on the advisory group that oversaw the design of Hei Āhuru Mōwai's Māori Workforce Development Programme, and welcomed delegates to the 2026 World Indigenous Cancer Conference alongside it.
Community Waikato
Gave Hei Āhuru Mōwai expertise, guidance and administrative support, which the 2024 Annual Report calls invaluable, and supported its growth after it registered as a charitable trust in 2020.
Te Kāhui Matepukupuku o Aotearoa, Cancer Society of New Zealand
Partners with Hei Āhuru Mōwai to award the Māori Cancer Researcher Awards, Research Master's and PhD scholarships for Māori cancer researchers.
Bowel Cancer NZ
Named in the 2025 Annual Report among the cancer organisations working with Hei Āhuru Mōwai.
Breast Cancer Foundation NZ
Partnered with Hei Āhuru Mōwai and Breast Cancer Cure in 2024 to launch the Breast Cancer Fellowship, awarded first to Dr Maxine Ronald.
Breast Cancer Cure
Partnered with Hei Āhuru Mōwai and Breast Cancer Foundation NZ in 2024 to launch the Breast Cancer Fellowship.
Earlier work together
Relationships recorded in earlier reports and pānui, each dated to when it happened.
Te Aka Whai Ora, Māori Health Authority
Worked with Hei Āhuru Mōwai to develop cancer care coordination services with Māori health providers, and supported the Māori Cancer Researcher Awards, until it was disestablished in 2024.
Tourism New Zealand
Supported Hei Āhuru Mōwai's successful bid to host the 2026 World Indigenous Cancer Conference.
Gut Cancer Foundation
Supported scholarships in the Māori Cancer Researcher Awards between 2023 and 2025, including two PhD candidates researching cancers of the digestive system.
MAS Foundation
A grant in March 2025 supported Hei Āhuru Mōwai's growth strategy, including work on an indigenous business model and new funding pathways.
Health Research Council of New Zealand
Funded two research projects Hei Āhuru Mōwai supported in the year to June 2025, the Māori Cancer Research Platform and Rongoā and Cancer.
Working with us
Hei Āhuru Mōwai works with organisations across the cancer continuum and beyond it, including those whose work reaches whānau well before a diagnosis and long after treatment ends.
If your organisation is considering how it works with Māori in cancer, or is looking for a partner in that mahi, we would like to hear from you.
Talk to us about partnering