RWNZ applauds hormone patch funding rethink
Rural Women New Zealand (RWNZ) says it welcomes recently announced consultation on Pharmac’s funding of ostradiol patches used by women going through perimenopause and menopause.
Don't forget rural communities in the proposed national health system, Rural Women New Zealand is telling the government.
RWNZ president Gill Naylor says while they are not averse to having a national health service, they are keen to see the detail.
"RWNZ expects to see a rural health and wellbeing strategy which is fully resourced and funded to ensure rural post codes aren't in the losing lottery," says Naylor.
Last week the Government announced it will abolish all 20 District Health Boards and create a single health organisation, in a sweeping plan to centralise New Zealand's fragmented healthcare system and end the "postcode lottery" of care.
Health Minister Andrew Little announced the creation of a national health organisation, akin to the United Kingdom's NHS, and also a Māori Health Authority with spending power, and a new Public Health Authority to centralise public health work.
"The reforms will mean that, for the first time, we will have a truly national health system, and the kind of treatment people get will no longer be determined by where they live," Little said.
Naylor says RWNZ wants to see Little's statement in practice.
"It is our expectation that the detail will also include a solid mechanism for including the voice of rural women, children and communities in decision-making be the new national health service.
"At the very least there should be both a rural impact and gender impact analysis done on the impacts of a national health service, before too much further work is done, to test if there will be any adverse impact on rural communities and women in particular.
"Our expectation is that the outcomes of these major changes is an equal playing field for the health and wellbeing needs of rural communities alongside that provided for our urban counterparts.
"We are looking forward to seeing the detail and hoping that rural women and children will not lose out on the health services," says Naylor.
Federated Farmers supports a review of the current genetic technology legislation but insists that a farmer’s right to either choose or reject it must be protected.
New Zealand’s top business leaders are urging the US Administration to review “unjustified and discriminatory tariffs” imposed on Kiwi exporters.
New tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump signal an uncertain future, but New Zealand farmers know how to adapt to changing conditions, says Auriga Martin, chief executive of Farm Focus.
A global trade war beckons, which is bad news for a small open economy like New Zealand, warns Mark Smith ASB senior economist.
Carterton's Awakare Farm has long stood as a place where family, tradition and innovation intersect.
Fonterra says the US continues to be an important market for New Zealand dairy and the co-op.
OPINION: Is it the beginning of the end for Greenpeace?
OPINION: The good times felt across the dairy sector weren't lost at last week's Beef + Lamb NZ annual meeting.