Equity at risk? Call to retain ethnicity criteria for key diabetes medicines
In a recent opinion piece in Pharmacy Today and NZDoctor by our expert advisor on prescription medicine Dr Leanne Te Karu warns that proposed changes by Pharmac could make health inequities worse for Māori and Pacific whānau.
Pharmac is thinking about removing a rule that helps Māori and Pacific peoples get better access to important diabetes medicines like SGLT2 inhibitors and GLP-1 receptor agonists.
Right now, Māori and Pacific peoples are more likely to get diabetes earlier, get sicker faster, and not always get the same access to the medicines and care they need. The current system was designed to help fix this by making sure people who need it most can get these medicines sooner.
Evidence shows this approach has been working, more Māori and Pacific peoples have been able to access treatment, and it has helped improve health outcomes and survival.
Removing this support before the wider system is fixed could mean going backwards.
Submissions close 28 May. This is a chance to speak up for fair access to life-saving medicines for our whānau.
Pharmac proposal to remove ethnicity criteria criticised
Pharmac is facing strong criticism in NZDoctor and Pharmacy Today over a proposal to remove ethnicity as a criterion for access to several diabetes medicines, with opponents warning the change could lead to more Māori and Pacific deaths and deepen long-standing inequities in the health system.
The proposal would amend Special Authority settings that currently prioritise access for groups disproportionately affected by type 2 diabetes, including Māori and Pacific peoples who experience higher rates of earlier onset and more severe complications.
Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board was quoted by both publications because we say removing ethnicity equity criteria raises serious concerns about whether Pharmac is meeting its obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi to achieve equitable Māori health outcomes.
We are warning that “treating all universally in the system does not create fairness. It entrenches inequity.”
Our board is calling for Pharmac to retain ethnicity-based access criteria, publish its equity impact analysis before consultation proceeds, clearly demonstrate how Māori health outcomes would improve under the proposed change, and engage directly with iwi Māori partnership boards, Māori clinicians and Māori health providers.
Submissions on the consultation close on 28 May 2026 leaving just 13 days for feedback on a proposal that critics say could reshape access to essential diabetes treatment.
BUDGET 2025: Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board: Uncompromising call to Govt on Budget 2025
The Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board, the statutory voice for 114,000 whānau Māori across the central North Island, is issuing an uncompromising call to the Government: make Budget 2025 a decisive turning point so the health system is timely and accessible.
National immunisations up as Māori rate treads water
An uptick in overall immunisation rates for infants and young children is to be welcomed, but rates for tamariki Māori continue to lag, says Mataroria Lyndon.
The University of Auckland senior lecturer and member of Te Tiratū iwi Māori partnership board says it is important to recognise progress has been made, “but that does not necessarily reflect the reality for Māori and inequity”.
Data showing alarmingly low immunisation rates, delays, costs still undermining Māori Health
Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board April Whānau Voice Report mirrored by Te Whatu Ora data has evidenced immunisation rates 33% lower than the national average, widespread inequities, long wait times, and unaffordable care still plaguing whānau Māori in its Tainui waka rohe.
Iwi Māori partnership boards forging forward
Te Tiratū iwi Māori partnership board
Friday 28 February 2025, 04:26 PM
2 minutes to Read
The largest IMPB collective Te Manawa Taki Iwi-Māori Partnership Board came together on Friday for a pivotal regional hui hosted by Te Tiratū IMPB that represents a Māori population of 114,990, making it the largest of the six boards.
“Our focus is very intentional to ensure efficacy,” said Te Tiratū IMPB co-chair Hagen Tautari. “We amplify Whānau Voice, so local whānau priorities are genuinely heard, seen and valued in health service design and delivery.”