In 2021 Moana Connect was approached by NZ Police to support Police in leading a Pacific approach to preventing Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy (SUDI).

Moana Connect, formerly the team at TAHA Pacific Maternal and Child Health, has had a long-standing focus on the early years and is a strong advocate for collective action-child wellbeing should be everybody’s business.

Further discussions led to establishing a core group of cross-sector organisations (Moana Connect, NZ Police, Pasefika Proud-MSD, Counties Manukau Health, Oranga Tamariki, Bright Sunday) working collaboratively to develop, design, and implement a Pacific-values-based campaign/approach.

It was acknowledged that a campaign on its own is insufficient, however, embedded within a holistic framework of responding to infant, child, and family wellbeing, it can be an effective lever.

With funding from MSD through Pasefika Proud pathways, a Pacific infant safety initiative/campaign – My Baby’s Village, was established.