The New Zealand Health Strategy 2016: whither health equity?
New Zealand's core health policy document the New Zealand Health Strategy (NZHS) was released in its final form in April 2016. This paper provides a critique of the strategy in particular, as it relates to health equity particularly for Maori. We introduce the five NZHS themes of people powered, closer to home, value and high performance, one team and smart system to focus on the aspirational goal of eliminating health inequities. Our critical framework is informed by Te Tiriti o Waitangi. We identified that the NZHS relies on the isolated efforts of committed individuals and organisations to achieve health equity and Te Tiriti engagement, rather than through a planned systems viewpoint. Evidence on health equity and Te Tiriti application suggests efforts need to be sustained, systematic and multi levelled to be successful, rather than ad hoc and piecemeal.
The New Zealand medical journal