'I don't want to be the last': Auckland Uni celebrates first Pacific WHO regional chief

The first Pacific World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Director for the Western Pacific says he hopes he's not the last.

Dr Saia Ma'u Piukala, previously Tonga's Health Minister, was nominated for the Regional Director position last year and appointed earlier this year.

Auckland University celebrated Piukala's achievement at their Fale Pasifika yesterday, where he said his success is "a moment for a lot of us".

"This opportunity allows me to serve our region more broadly," Piukala said.

"However, the enormity of the task is not lost on me. I don't want to be the first Pacific Islander and the last.

"Running around the beautiful beaches of my Island in Vava'u. Today, I stand among the giants in regional and global public health."

Piukala has over 30 years of experience working in Tonga and across the Pacific as a politician, health expert and surgeon. However, he isn't unfamiliar with WHO, as from 2018 to 2020 he was their Commissioner for the Independent High-Level Commission on non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

Piukala later served as Vice-Chair for the WHO Regional Committee for the Western Pacific between October 2022 to October 2023.

A diverse crowd from different fields filled the Fale, including PMN Tonga's John Pulu who was MC, PMN Niue's Leitualaalemalietoa Lynn Lolokini Pavihi, to Aupito William Sio and Labour's Jenny Salesa.

A role that rotates: Why Piukala won't be the last
Salesa said it's a historic moment that a "son of the Pacific" is at the helm of a vital role for Pacific peoples.

Labour MP Jenny Salesa. Photo /PMN News

"I was looking through who has held this position, since 1957 until today, in terms of countries.

"I saw that it's been held once by the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea and now the Kingdom of Tonga. It's [also] been held four times by Japan."

Addressing Piukala directly, she said "all of the Pacific are looking to you, now that you've broken that glass ceiling".

Aupito said Piukala won't be the last Pacific person in the Regional Director chair, recalling when he told the Western Pacific Regional Organisation that "we're a family".

"And as a family, we've got to be able to ensure all voices are heard," Aupito said.

"To do that the role needs to be rotated and that's what we've got to aim for and that's what we can achieve when we put our minds to it."

Salesa, Professor Warwick Bagg, and Sir Collin Tukuitonga took the stand to congratulate Piukala. Tukuitonga spoke on behalf of Sir Ashley Bloomfield who couldn't attend due to weather-related flight cancellations.

Through Tukuitonga, Bloomfield congratulated Piukala and acknowledged the impressive contributions to the International Health Regulations by the Pacific region, particularly the Small Island States.

Bloomfield also said now that the first part is done it's time to support those countries.

Tukuitonga echoed Bloomfield's sentiment, saying he invited Piukala to the University of Auckland out of the "duty and responsibility to support Piukala".

"[We also have] a need to contribute to the Small Island States in the region and that's the motivation for this."

The Pacific health elixir: How mat weaving could be the recipe
Aupito said he knew the intimate details of what it took to get to today, as Piukala's role is a political one where "politicians change their mind".

"It was the Pacific that understood having representation and having their perspective injected into the WHO's policy, particularly our region, [that] we knew to stand together," Aupito said.

Piukala spoke on the importance of Pacific unity, likening it to the widespread Pacific culture of weaving mats, which is also the framework of his "weaving narrative" design.

The “Weaving narrative”, or “health mat” design. Photo /PMN News.

His framework weaves in multisectoral collaboration through a scaffolding system based on mat weaving designs, which aims to uplift health systems, address climate change and build resilience.

Multisectoral collaboration is an approach Piukala has advocated for as a solution to NCDs and the impacts of climate change on health. Piukala also announced that Aupito had agreed to support this framework.

When Piukala approached Aupito for support, Aupito said as a former MP and Minister for Pacific Peoples with plenty of experience, that it was a no-brainer to answer "of course!"

"As you heard Sir Collin say, now that we've got him in there we've got to make sure he succeeds.

"The role is for the whole region and as he says the health challenges are relatively the same: diabetes, NCDs, and climate change."

Aupito said climate change is a pressing issue that many Pacific leaders have brought up and that supporting the health systems impacted by it is equally important.

"New Zealand has a responsibility to make sure he succeeds and all of us here have put our hands up and say 'let's do that'."