When COVID-19 began it’s sweep across the globe, we bore witness to some incredible missteps by our country. We’ve discussed in detail how and why that happened; leadership that doesn’t value science or unity breeds mistrust. How could we have built more trust in public health in the United States during COVID? More importantly, how could we have communicated science, vaccines, public health, and empathy more effectively? In class, we saw an inspiring example of that kind of communication with New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern.

. PM Ardern has delivered inspiring speeches that demonstrate strength under pressure, empathy, accountability, foresight, and a dedication to science. She has worked hard to sow trust in public health within her country: while they have experienced spikes recently, New Zealand had faced some of the lowest COVID rates in the world. PM Ardern has been a crucial figure in the effort to stop the spread, her communication being one of her greatest strengths.

That being said, communication should be followed with action, and this does demonstrate a short coming of the PM. Despite Ardern’s effective elimination strategy, it is important to look at what populations were left out of the conversation. The Māori population faced disparities in vaccination access and hospitalization rates, illustrating that when programs are developed on a broad, general scale – even if these programs are strong and scientifically backed – they often overlook the needs and inequities of health for marginalized groups. While PM Ardern’s communication is often inclusive and intentional with the Māori population, her actions that follow do little for health equity for indigenous people.

There is much to be learned from PM Ardern and New Zealand’s response, but like the United States, they too uphold systems of oppression when it comes to their indigenous populations. While I hope to see the United States take a similar science-led, consistent, and reliable approach, I think the pandemic has highlighted health inequity specifically for indigenous and marginalized populations around the world. Health communication is only as effective as the action that follows.