Explicit ethnicity-based eligibility criteria may help overcome access to care barriers for patients with diabetes, according to a review of the 2021 New Zealand policy decision for ethnicity-based funding of sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists. Indigenous health experts advocated for this decision, based on persistent ethnic inequities in diabetes prevalence, access to treatment, and outcomes.
A powerful illustration of how Indigenous clinicians and public health experts in Aotearoa mobilised evidence and advocacy to drive pro-equity policy change — in this case, influencing the 2021 decision to use ethnicity as an explicit eligibility criterion for publicly funded diabetes medicines, addressing longstanding inequities in access to treatment but with benefits for all Aotearoa’s people and health system. Wonderful to see how Indigenous leadership can be operationalised, in real-world policy with benefits for all!
Independent commentary by Dr. Matire Hardwood
Dr Matire Harwood (Ngapuhi) has worked in Hauora Māori, primary health and rehabilitation settings as clinician and researcher since graduating from Auckland Medical School in 1994. She also holds positions on a number of boards, committees and advisory groups including the Health Research Council. Matire lives in Auckland with her whānau including partner Haunui and two young children Te Rangiura and Waimarie.
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