Health

Snapshot

NZAID works in partnership with non-government organisations such as Save the Children to ensure our support reaches people at the grass-roots level.

Good health reduces poverty

Ill health can be a barrier to sustainable development. It has long been well recognised
that breaking the vicious cycle of poverty and ill health is an essential precondition
for sustainable pro-poor development.

Support for the health sector is an important component of NZAID's
work. Key aspects of this support over the past year have been for improvements in sexual and reproductive health and rights including:

addressing HIV and AIDS
the health of women and children
promotion of healthy lifestyles and the prevention of non-communicable diseases such as heart disease and diabetes, mental health, disabilities
health sector capacity building including for health workers.

NZAID continues to assist in improving access to specialist services treatment in eligible Pacific Island countries.

Health and the international development goals

New Zealand is a signatory to a number of internationally agreed goals and targets.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are the globally agreed framework to progress poverty reduction. NZAID is committed to making sure the eight MDGs are reached by 2015. All of the MDGs are indirectly linked to health and health outcomes, three of the goals relate specifically to the health sector. These are:

MDG 4 | Reduce child mortality
MDG 5 | Improve maternal health
MDG 6 | Combat HIV and AIDS, malaria and other diseases.

The International Convention on Population and Development (ICPD) Programme of Action emphasises the linkages between population, economic growth and sustainable development and seeks to achieve poverty reduction and economic growth through the groups. The major focus of NZAID's assistance for health activities is to improve access to primary health care services and to strengthen health care systems.

NZAID priorities

NZAID's support to health is prioritised to reflect the principles of gender equality, poverty reduction, economic development and environmental sustainability. It focuses on respect, protection and fulfilment of the right to the highest attainable standard of health with consideration for key health issues and trends.

Supporting health

In the Pacific NZAID has identified key areas for assistance based on priorities identified by the Pacific Ministers of Health. Some of these include addressing unhealthy lifestyles, support for sexual and reproductive health information and services for HIV and AIDS, assisting with preparing for an avian influenza and other pandemic threats, and support to strengthening inadequate health systems, including improving the capacity of human resources. Particular attention is paid to a primary health care approach.

Poverty is a global problem, but its effects can be seen close to home. Statistics from our neighbours in the Pacific paint a challenging picture. For example Papua New Guinea, faces very serious health issues with the lowest living standards of any country in the Pacific, the lowest average life expectancy, and the highest rates of maternal and infant mortality.

While NZAID's core geographical focus in health is the Pacific region, the agency also supports partnerships in health in other parts of the work including:

Asia and Africa,
the joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS)
the International Planned Parenting Programme (IPPF)
the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

NZAID's Health Policy

The key issues of focus for NZAID's Health Policy are:

imroving access to and provision of primary health care
providing limited specialist care for some Pacific countries through mechanisms that are cost-effective and strategic and
promoting a multidimensional view of health through collaboration across sectors.

NZAID's Health Strategy, 2008-2013, seeks to improve health for men, women and children in NZAID's partner countries with a particular focus on poor and vulnerable groups. The major focus of NZAID's assistance for health activities is to improve access to primary health care services and to strengthen health care systems.

return to | NZAID's priorities