Kia ora, aloha, talofa, malo e lelei, ni sa bula vinaka, fakaalofa lahi atu, and warm Pacific greetings!
This summer's weather has been particularly heavy, so we hope you have been able to keep safe, cool, and dry. February hosts a number of important events, including Waitangi Day, Heart Health Awareness, and Ovarian Cancer Awareness. We're also running an education and awareness campaign on the dangers of button batteries for tamariki aged 0-4 years.
As always, we thank you for reading our pānui for highlighting news, reseach, and policy development relevant to our mahi. If you have any feedback, would like us to highlight your work, or just want to get in touch, click the button below.
Consultation on Lane Use Improvements - Closes 25 Mar, link here
Below are recent health and child injury news and media stories from across the motu, highlighting issues impacting tamariki, whānau, and our communities.
17th World Conference on Injury Prevention & Safety Promotion 2028
Call for Expressions of Interest
Deadline: 18 March 2026
The International Organising Committee (IOC) of the bi-annual World Conferences on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion is inviting expressions of interest from organisations interested in hosting the 17th World Conference in 2028. These organisations must be academic, research, non-governmental, or governmental in nature (for-profit enterprises or commercial conference centers are ineligible).
Modernising Primary Health: Models of Care that Make a Difference
22 - 28 March 2026
Christchurch
Join changemakers from across Aotearoa who are shaping the future of primary and community health for two days of innovation and collaboration. This conference brings together those delivering, supporting, and experiencing care, together we'll explore new models of care that are making a real difference for kaimahi and whānau across the motu.
Health Coalition Aotearoa is hosting the first webinar in its 2026 Investing in Prevention series, focusing on lobbying and transparency. Aotearoa New Zealand remains an international outlier when it comes to regulating lobbying. This webinar will examine why transparent and balanced policymaking matters for public trust and how hidden influence can shape policy decisions with real consequences for health and equity.
Using Social Media to Promote Health & Prevent Injurie
29 April 2026
Webinar
Social media has become a powerful tool in health promotion and injury prevention by enabling organisations and professionals to reach large and diverse audiences quickly and effectively. It plays a critical role in raising awareness, facilitating behaviour change, engaging communities, gathering data, and promoting advocacy and activism. This webinar is suitable for Health Promotion Officers, Injury Prevention Professionals, Public Health Officers, Community Engagement Officers, Community Health Workers, and Early-career Policy Advocates.
This conference examines the structural, social and commercial drivers of injury risk, and the solutions to address them through an African lens with global relevance. Grounded in Ubuntu, the philosophy of interconnectedness and shared responsibility, the theme highlights the power of collective action in preventing injury and violence.
Bringing together diverse sectors and communities, the conference will explore leading evidence alongside the social, economic and political barriers that hinder progress. It is a clear call to action to prioritise safety and public health in policy and decision-making.
The call for submissions for the 2026 Australasian Road Safety Conference (ARSC) closes Thursday, 12 March 2026 at 5:00pm AEDT.
If you’re a road safety or injury prevention researcher or practitioner, now is your chance to showcase your groundbreaking research through an Abstract or Interactive Workshop proposal. This year’s conference theme, From Evidence to Action: Shaping a Brighter Future, highlights the urgent need for impactful, evidence-based solutions as we work toward 2030 road safety targets. Your research could directly influence the strategies that save lives and prevent serious injuries.
Health Informatics New Zealand (HiNZ) and the Digital Health Association (DHA) are co-leading New Zealand’s flagship digital health event in 2026, which is being redesigned to better serve the entire data and digital health ecosystem.
Tukutuku panels are a traditional Māori art form used in the construction of whare tīpuna (meeting houses). The core elements of these panels are called tūmatakahuki – both the vertical stake (rod) which provide structural integrity to the work and the sacred binding stitch that forms the foundation of the panel. Likewise, we hope for this newsletter to be the stake that connects and binds our unintentional injury network as we support each other's efforts to improve the wellbeing of whānau and protect our tamariki from preventable harm.
Ririki Haumaru Safekids Aotearoa, Greenlane Clinical Centre, 40 Claude Road, Epsom, Auckland Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland 1023, Aotearoa New Zealand
