March 05, 2019
Investment focus needed for public health spending
Doctors say increased investment in effective public health will not only improve health and well being but also support the country’s economic growth.
Dr Felicity Dumble, the president of the New Zealand College of Public Health Medicine, says health costs are set to rise because of long-term challenges such as climate change-related health issues, antimicrobial resistance, and inequity of health outcomes.
She says preventable disease and injury currently make up almost a third of all health losses, with Māori in particular experiencing excessive preventable health losses.
She says public health interventions which focus on prevention rather than cure are cost-effective and any such spending should be viewed as an investment, and not as a budgetary cost.
The college is calling for that principle to be incorporated into the proposed review of the health and disability system
Copyright © 2019, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com