Our call to next government: fix heart and lung health now
As the election draws near, we are calling on the next Government to make heart and lung health a national priority. We want investment in prevention, early intervention, and equitable access to care.
Heart disease kills more New Zealanders than any other illness. Respiratory disease is quietly disabling thousands more. Both are treatable, yet neither is getting the investment it needs and deserves.
Every year, the same story repeats: patients diagnosed too late, treatments delayed, not enough beds or staff and a health system stretched too thin to keep up.
Today, the Cardiac and Respiratory Foundation NZ is releasing its 2026 Election Manifesto, announcing seven calls that would change the story for thousands of New Zealanders.
Foundation Chief Executive Ms Letitia Harding says every year thousands of New Zealanders die from conditions we know how to treat and manage better.
“It’s frustrating because, in many cases, we know what to do, and we already have the tools to do it.
“What we are asking for aren't wish-list items – they are practical fixes that will save lives, ease pressure on hospitals, and stop disease falling hardest on the communities who can least afford it."
The manifesto sets out six practical, evidence-based calls the Foundation wants the next government to commit to:
- Detect lung cancer earlier – fund a targeted national lung screening programme for at-risk smokers and former smokers, starting Budget 2027
- Strengthen protection through vaccination – fund the RSV vaccine for infants and the shingles vaccines for high-risk patients
- Build the workforce and infrastructure – lift cardiac bed capacity and cath lab staffing, targeting under-served regions
- Create a Nicotine-Free Aotearoa – ban vape flavours, stop new specialist vape retailers, and remove tobacco and vape sales from dairies, petrol stations and supermarkets
- Fix access to medicines and devices – create a fit-for-purpose Pharmac pathway for medical devices, and fast-track medicines and devices that are recommended in international guidelines
- Clean up the air we breathe – enforce Healthy Homes Standards, ban unflued gas heaters, and support the monitoring of air quality in schools and workplaces
The decisions made in the next term of government will decide whether New Zealand keeps falling behind in the health, of its people or finally invests in prevention and equitable care, Ms Harding says.
"This manifesto isn't a suggestion box – it’s what cardiologists and respiratory physicians have been asking for, for years.
“We're asking the next government to actually listen to the people on the front lines, rather than just the babble from the bureacrats.”