Tukuitonga in 2011

Sir Collin Fonotau Tukuitonga KNZM (born 1957 or 1958)[1] is a Niuean-born New Zealand doctor, public health academic, public policy expert and advocate for reducing health inequalities of Māori and Pasifika people. He has held several positions in public health and government in New Zealand and internationally.

Early life and education

Tukuitonga was born and raised in Niue. He completed his medical degree in Fiji, followed by a master's degree in public health in Sydney.[2]

Name

Tukuitonga's first name was spelt 'Colin' for many years but as of 2022 he reverted to its original spelling with a double 'l'.[2]

Career

Tukuitonga was Chief Executive of the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs, Director of Public Health for the Ministry of Health and also Coordinator of Surveillance of Noncommunicable Diseases for the World Health Organization (WHO) based in Geneva.[3] From 2014 to 2020 he was Director-General of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community.[4] In 2018 he was nominated by the New Zealand government to be the Regional Director of the Western Pacific Region of the World Health Organization however he did not gain the position.[5]

In 2020 Tukuitonga was appointed as inaugural Associate Dean Pacific at the Health and Medical Sciences faculty of the University of Auckland.[6]

In November 2022 he was appointed for a three year term on the Public Health Advisory Committee (PHAC); the PHAC provides public health advice to government and the Minister of Health.[7]

In 2023, Tukuitonga was appointed a Fellow of the International Science Council for his contributions to Pacific health.[8]

In December 2023, Tukuitonga resigned as chairperson of Te Whatu Ora's Pacific Senate, citing his disagreement with the incoming Sixth National Government's scrapping of the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Act 2022 and Te Aka Whai Ora (Māori Health Authority). He said that: "I really don't want to work for this government. I have no confidence. They are not going to treat Pacific people well and I want to be free to speak up and speak out." In addition, Tukuitonga stepped down from several other government advisory groups.[9]

Tukuitonga's investiture as a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit by the governor-general, Dame Cindy Kiro, at Government House, Auckland, on 26 August 2022

Honours and awards

Tukuitonga was appointed a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to Pacific and public health, in the 2022 Queen's Birthday and Platinum Jubilee Honours.[10]

Selected publications

References

  1. ^ "Health boss wins top research job". The Dominion Post. 31 July 2003. p. 2.
  2. ^ a b Husband, Dale (25 July 2020). "Collin Tukuitonga: Looking after our people". E-Tangata. Archived from the original on 28 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  3. ^ "Collin Tukuitonga". The Conversation. Archived from the original on 5 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  4. ^ "Colin Tukuitonga". The Pacific Community. Archived from the original on 5 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  5. ^ "Dr Colin Tukuitonga". The Beehive. 9 October 2018. Archived from the original on 19 May 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  6. ^ "Outgoing SPC head to take on new role at Auckland University". RNZ. 27 November 2019. Archived from the original on 5 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  7. ^ "About the committee: the role of PHAC". Ministry of Health NZ. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  8. ^ "Sir Collin Tukuitonga appointed as a Fellow for the International Science Council | PMAGroup". pmagroup.org.nz. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
  9. ^ Foon, Eleisha (11 December 2023). "Sir Collin Tukuitonga resigns from NZ government roles, citing 'no confidence'". Radio New Zealand. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  10. ^ "The Queen's Birthday and Platinum Jubilee Honours List 2022". The New Zealand Herald. 6 June 2022. Archived from the original on 6 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
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