The president of the Pacific Medical Association, Dr Kiki Maoate emphasised the critical need for government intervention in health policy making.

In an interview with Cook Islands News, Cook Islander Dr Maoate highlighted that robust data collection and the willingness to lead are vital components for improving public health.

He also stressed the importance of legislative support to enhance policies related to healthy eating, smoking cessation, and support for schools.

“If the government can see that we’re providing good data and the willingness to provide leadership to make the changes we think will improve the well-being of our families and particularly our kids then the government should seriously think about supporting initiatives,” Dr Maoate stated.

“These are the further opportunities to actually tweak and make improvement and advance the health of the nation.”

Dr Maoate attended the 23^rd Cook Islands Annual Health Conference held from July 10-12 at the National Auditorium. The three-day meeting focused on oral health, non-communicable diseases and strengthening the health workforce.

Drawing comparisons with other Pacific Island countries, Dr Maoate pointed out that Cook Islanders face similar health challenges, particularly with issues like obesity and diabetes.

Despite the ongoing efforts, a recent publication highlighted that household data on these health conditions has not significantly changed over the last decade.

“It’s good to have the data to reconfirm that what we are trying to push and change is not looking as much as we would like for our families,” he said.

Dr Maoate also touched upon the cultural complexities surrounding food and nutrition, emphasising that solutions are not as straightforward as merely cutting out certain foods.

He noted the variability within communities, where abundance can coexist with scarcity, complicating efforts to promote healthy eating.

Dr Maoate’s message is a call to shift mindsets towards long-term investment in health, especially for future generations.

He argued that without a significant change in how individuals perceive and act on health issues like diabetes, achieving substantial progress would be challenging.

“If we don’t invest in ourselves then we need to think about what we’re going to do with our kids, how we’re going to invest in our kids.”

Following the Annual Health Conference, Secretary for Health Bob Williams confirmed that he and the Minister of Health will make recommendations from their staff on possible solutions gathered from the conference.

“So what I’m waiting for from my team is advice on recommendations they will propose for me to consider and also for the Minister of Health including our government,” Williams said.

“It is to improve the health conditions of our children as our special targeted population hence also having the health expo, we want to grow our own workforce.”

Minister for Health Rose Toki-Brown also added that the government is slowly taking steps on overcoming these health challenges by considering recommendations from such conferences.

“First one is educating our people, we have a big task which I’m hoping to implement very soon but I will start with my ministry first,” Toki-Brown said.

“I started with the Ministry of Health and I have yet to discuss with the other ministries but we will have more discussions in Cabinet as everything goes to Cabinet.”

Meanwhile Dr Maoate praised the conference’s facilitators, Te Marae Ora Ministry of Health (TMO) and expressed optimism about its future, noting that it provides opportunities for training and development that are crucial for advancing the nation's health workforce.

“The conference is a vehicle. It’s a great opportunity for a whole list of things and the first is for our health workers to get together not just for the Cooks but also from across the region, New Zealand and Australia.”