A course is being run in Aotearoa for health professionals. Image / Supplied
A course is being run in Aotearoa for health professionals. Image / Supplied
Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air
A newly-funded asthma drug could save thousands of Kiwi lives but there's a lot more to be done.
Pharmac has signed off to fund fasenra - a drug that could help fight severe eosinophilic asthma (EA) that affects an estimated 39,000 Kiwis.
Asthma New Zealand CEO Katheren Leitner said the extra funding was great but the medical authorties' focus needs to be on establishing and implementing a national strategy for asthma sufferers - especially Māori, who are once again on the inequitable side of the ledger.
"We know that access to medication is a challenge for many, including Māori which means that it is very likely that the numbers reported are lower than actual," Leitner said.
"2018/2019 data shows that Māori children are 1.2 times more likely to have medicated asthma than non-Māori.
"To use hospitalisation and mortality rates as an indicator provides an incomplete picture of the real impact of asthma. Māori are over-represented in both these measures, Māori are three times more likely to be hospitalised because of asthma and have the highest mortality rates."
Leitner backs the government's healthy homes policy.
"The quality of housing, the ability to access consistent health care and adhere to medication are significant contributors to asthma and life-impacting consequences," she said.
"New Zealand housing is some of the unhealthiest in the developed world. We have been in breach of article 25.1 of the Human Rights Declaration for almost five decades.
"The effects of poverty are far-reaching, access to the very basics such as education and healthcare drive life-long poverties."
But more concerning is the lack of future direction from medical experts. Māori tamariki go to hospital with asthma more than twice the rate of non-Māori.
"The impact asthma has on generations of intelligent, talented young lives is completely overlooked and most definitely under-reported," Leitner said.
"A child that starts school with poorly managed or un-diagnosed asthma (1:8) will be 60 per cent behind after their first year of education. They are 60 per cent more likely to drop out of sport and 66 per cent more likely to experience mental health issues as a consequence of a life-time condition that could be well-managed.
Asthma NZ CEO Katherne Leitner. Photo / Supplied
"Whilst asthma is hereditary, a cold, damp, mouldy home can cause a life-time of asthma for those who might not have otherwise had their respiratory system compromised.
New Zealand has one of the poorest records for asthma management, we have no national strategy and less than 30 per cent of the GPs use the National Asthma Guidelines when treating patients with asthma.
For a country that has the second highest rate of asthma we pay lip-service to the way in which we fund, manage and support it. "
