About us

The Moko Foundation is a non-profit charitable trust established to build a better Aotearoa New Zealand through health, leadership and education.

The Moko Foundation is a non-profit dedicated to enhancing the well-being of New Zealand (Aotearoa) through health, leadership, and education initiatives. Founded in 2011 by Dr. Lance O’Sullivan and Tracy MacFarlane, it works to improve lives and foster positive change across communities.

With a holistic focus on health, leadership, and education, the foundation empowers individuals and promotes a brighter future for Aotearoa.

The Moko Foundation has a growing impact, with many rangatahi benefiting from its leadership programs and mentor network, helping them develop skills to uplift their communities.

Waharoa ki te Toi, a research center in Kaitaia, advances health outcomes by generating new knowledge. This unique partnership between the Moko Foundation and the Maurice Wilkins Centre unites over 150 top scientists and clinicians to drive impactful health research.

The foundation’s success is fueled by its dedicated staff, whose passion and hard work drive positive change in health, leadership, and education across Aotearoa.

Learn more

Our past projects

2015

Hawea Vercoe Leadership Academy

The Hawea Vercoe Leadership Programme was the rangatahi engagement arm of the Moko Foundation and focuses on empowering rangatahi to explore opportunities to build a better Aotearoa New Zealand.

Click to read more
2015

2017

Fructose in Schools Study (FISS)

The Fructose in Schools Study (FISS) was initiated by the MOKO Foundation in 2017 to rural schools within the Far North. This research is trying to understand more about the rates of absorption of the sugar fructose across the New Zealand population and the effects this has on metabolic health outcomes. The MOKO Foundations role in this program is delivering this initiative to Far North schools as a means to educate students about the science of sugar and importance of health whilst capturing relevant data. 

Click to read more.
2017

2018

CrebRF

We carried out a study here in the Far North that looked at Gene variants in Māori men & its association with height, BMI & type 2 diabetes. 

Click here to read about the outcomes of the research. 
2018

2019

iMOKO

iMOKO was a virtual health initiative established by The Moko Foundation & Dr Lance O’Sullivan, that was used to treat children in local schools for strep throat & basic skin infections. The aim of this initiative was to provide equitable access to children who require basic health care. 
2019
Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons

This message is only visible to site admins
Problem displaying Facebook posts.

Error: Error validating access token: The session has been invalidated because the user changed their password or Facebook has changed the session for security reasons.
Type: OAuthException
Code: 190
Subcode: 460
Scroll to Top