World Health Day: Striving Toward Health For All In Aotearoa New Zealand

World Health Day is a chance to both recognise the progress made in improving global public health since the World Health Organization was founded 75 years ago and acknowledge how far we have to go.

This year’s World Health Day, celebrated on Friday 7 April, is focused on “Health for All”, envisioning a future where all people, including the billions who cannot access essential healthcare today, have good health and can live a fulfilling life in a peaceful, prosperous, and sustainable world.

Director-General of Health Dr Diana Sarfati says the health of New Zealanders has improved in many ways over the past 75 years.

In 1948, New Zealand was in the midst of a polio epidemic that would claim 77 lives, the median person’s life was 13 years shorter than today, and babies were more than seven times more likely to die in childbirth. Despite a younger population, a New Zealander in 1948 was significantly more likely to die of cancer than someone today.

“Today we have eradicated Polio in New Zealand, drastically improved the chance that mothers and babies will survive childbirth, increase the life expectancy of all New Zealanders and their chance of surviving cancer,” Dr Sarfati says.

“However, celebrating the health successes of the past 75 years cannot occur without acknowledging our failures to achieve health equity, particularly in fulfilling our obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi to support Māori to live healthier lives. While life expectancy for Māori has increased since 1948, we have made little progress in closing the health inequity gap.

“Māori continue to live shorter lives, continue to have worse maternal and perinatal mortality rates, and are about twice as likely to die if they are diagnosed with cancer compared to New Zealand Europeans.”

Last year’s Pae Ora health reforms, including the establishment of Te Aka Whai Ora – the Māori Health Authority, Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand and Te Pou Hauora Tūmatanui - the Public Health Agency – provides a once-in-a-generation opportunity to achieve Health for All in Aotearoa New Zealand by making equity a foundation of the health system.

“World Health Day is a call to strengthen our focus on supporting groups, including Māori, Pacific people, and disabled people, that continue to experience poorer health outcomes.

“Fulfilling the promise of Pae Ora will take time but the past shows that advances in medical care and technology, public health measures, and better access to health knowledge can led to healthier lives for all New Zealanders.”

Facts and figures

Life expectancy

· According to the latest Stats NZ figures, the median person today lives about 13 years longer than they would have 75 years ago.

· In 1948, the median male lived to about 67, and a female to 69. In 2019, this had risen to 78 years for males and 83 years for females.

Cancer

· Despite an ageing population and a growing number of people living with cancer, the proportion of the population dying from cancer each year has decreased since 1948.

· In 1948, there were 136 cancer deaths for every 100,000 New Zealanders. Today (2018) that number is 114 cancer deaths for every 100,000 New Zealanders, despite a higher proportion of New Zealanders living with cancer.

Polio 

· Between November 1947 and July 1949, New Zealand experienced its fourth major Polio epidemic in 34 years. Over those 19 months, at least 1,406 people had the disease, 805 people suffered paralysis, and 77 people died.

· In 1961, New Zealand made oral polio vaccine available and since 1962 only seven cases have been detected in New Zealand, the last in 1998.

Infant and maternal mortality

· In 1948, babies in Aotearoa New Zealand were about seven times more likely to die in childbirth than they are today [as of 2018], and mothers were about nine times more likely not to survive pregnancy compared to today [as of 2018].

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