New Zealand currently has a life expectancy of 81 years, showing a sustained increase in life expectancy from 79 years in 2000 and 75 years in 1990. Gains have been primarily due to reduced child and maternal mortality and improved longevity for other age groups, particularly for older people with chronic diseases. However, the life expectancy at birth in the Mãori population is approximately eight years less than for non-Mãori of both genders (2010).
Improving indigenous disparities in the distribution of health and its determinants is a priority of the New Zealand Government, with 14 per cent of the population currently identified as indigenous (2010). Presently, public funding is provided only for child and adolescent primary and oral health care services, and the Maori are less likely to seek medical care when a payment is levied. The Maori population has a median age of 22 years, with a high fertility rate and population growth rate compared with the rest of New Zealand’s population.
All District Health Boards (DHBs) are required to work towards improving the health of Mãori and reducing health disparities between Mãori and non-Mãori. As part of New Zealand’s commitment to improving the health of indigenous people, each DHB is required to have a Mãori Health Plan (MHP) that highlights the DHB’s efforts to this effect.
Cardiovascular diseases and diabetes account for a significant burden of chronic illness and premature death for the entire population of New Zealand. About 10,500 New Zealanders die from cardiovascular diseases each year, accounting for 40 per cent of all deaths. More than 7,000 people are newly diagnosed with diabetes each year and 4.5 per cent of the population of New Zealand live with the disease (2007). Obesity is one of the most important modifiable risk factors for these diseases; more than half of the adult population and just under a third of children in New Zealand are classified as either overweight or obese.
Each year the Ministry of Health for New Zealand publishes health targets to provide a focus for action. The targets are designed to improve the performance of specific health services. Most recently the Ministry of Health set a target to carry out more heart and diabetes checks nationwide. The Ministry aims that by 1 July 2014, 90 per cent of those eligible to have had their cardiovascular risk assessed in the last five years will also have been given a diabetes test. Previous stages of this target were to achieve 60 per cent by 2012, and 75 per cent by 2013.
