Adult Health Early Childhood Education Pacific adults face significant health challenges which impact their abilities to serve communities. One in every four Pacific adults is a smoker,113 and nine percent of Pacific adults have been diagnosed with diabetes.114 Pacific peoples carry a higher burden of mental health issues115 and are two times more likely to suffer from anxiety or depression than other New Zealanders.116 Pacific adults are less likely to drink than adults of other ethnic groups in Aotearoa New Zealand, but those who do are more likely to be hazardous drinker.117 One in every two Pacific male drinkers of alcohol is a hazardous drinker.118 Since the year 2000, the number of Pacific children enrolled in licenced Early Childhood Education (ECE) services has nearly doubled, from 7834 in 2000 to 15890 in 2019.121 The Ministry of Education data does not count the numbers of children enrolled in Pacific language ECE services specifically, but data did highlight that in 2019, 153 children were enrolled in Pacific Island Early Childhood Groups,122 and a further 17 percent, 2701 children, were enrolled in a home-based service.123 Education In the past decade, significant effort has been made to improve the qualifications attainment rates of Pacific students. The following data demonstrates the attainment rates of Pacific students compared to European students at the main school-based qualifications, NCEA Level 1, NCEA Level 2, NCEA Level 3 and University Entrance.124 Attaining educational qualifications is commonly regarded among Pacific families as one of the most important drivers of intergenerational connection and commitment.119 Pacific stories of migration, from outer island to mainland and onto Aotearoa New Zealand, have included discourses about seeking educational opportunities.120 Seeking educational opportunity is based around the continuation of service ethics in Pacific cultures. Family and community leaders instil the idea that as the world grows in sophistication, formal and informal education play roles in supporting an individual’s service to the family and community. 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 34 Qualification Attainment Pasifika Futures. 2017. Pasifika People in New Zealand: How Are We Doing? Auckland: Pasifika Futures, p.24 Accessed at http://pasifikafutures.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/PF_HowAreWeDoing-RD2-WEB2.pdf. Ministry of Health. 2017. Faiva Ora 2016–2021: National Pasifika Disability Plan. Wellington: Ministry of Health, pp.9-10. Accessed at https://www.health.govt.nz/system/files/documents/publications/faiva-ora-2016-2021-national-pasifikadisability-plan-aug17_0.pdf. Ministry of Health. 2008. Pacific peoples and Mental Health: A paper for the Pacific Health and Disability Action Plan Review. Wellington: Ministry of Health, pp. 4-6. Pasefika Proud. 2016a. Pacific peoples in New Zealand: Understanding Who We Are. Wellington: Paseifika Proud, p.2. Accessed at http://www.pasefikaproud.co.nz/assets/Resources-for-download/PasefikaProudResource-Understandingwho-we-are-infographic.pdf. Pasifika Futures. 2017. Pasifika People in New Zealand: How Are We Doing? Auckland: Pasifika Futures, p.11. Accessed at http://pasifikafutures.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/PF_HowAreWeDoing-RD2-WEB2.pdf. A Hazardous Drinker is defined according to the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). (AUDIT), developed by the World Health Organisation. The AUDIT is a 10-item questionnaire covering alcohol consumption, alcoholrelated problems, and abnormal drinking behaviour. Each question is scored from zero to four, so the questionnaire has a maximum score of 40. An AUDIT score of eight or more is defined as potentially hazardous drinking. Macpherson, Spoonley & Anae, 2001, Tangata o te Moana Nui, Dunmore Press. Tu’itahi, 2005, Langa Fonua: in search of success: how a Tongan kainga strived to be socially and economically successful in New Zealand, Massey University. Education Counts, 2020, Enrolments in ECE accessed from https://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/statistics/earlychildhood-education/participation. ibid. Ministry of Education, early Childhood Education Census 2019, accessed from https://www.educationcounts.govt. nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/196562/Attendance-at-licensed-ECE-services-in-2019.pdf. Ministry of Education: Enrolment-based NCEA, UE and NZ Scholarship statistics, accessed from: https://www. educationcounts.govt.nz/statistics/schooling/senior-student-attainment. Talanoa: Human rights issues for Pacific peoples in Aotearoa New Zealand