Letitia’s Message

Ihope you have all managed to keep colds and flus at bay over the winter months, and I am sure you are now all eager for the warmer spring weather which is just around the corner.

The COVID-19 pandemic has certainly shone a spotlight on respiratory health and how important it is to look after our lungs. This is why this year’s Breathe Better September campaign, and raising awareness of respiratory health is more important than ever. Take a look at page 2 to find out how you, your friends and colleagues can get involved and become a ‘Better Breathing Hero’. Breathe Better September is a fun way to challenge yourself and others to improve lung function and raise funds to support New Zealanders with respiratory conditions at the same time.

Well, a lot has been happening here at the Foundation - in June we published the highly anticipated New Zealand Adolescent and Adult Asthma Guidelines and the updated Child Asthma Guidelines. These will be followed by New Zealand’s first COPD guidelines later in the year.

Presenting medical information and research findings in a way that works for the general public, as well as their healthcare providers is important to us, and after 56 years, the Foundation understands how to do this effectively.

Health literacy is an essential part of empowering people to improve their own health, from the very young to the very old, for all cultures and ethnicities. This is why we were so excited to be able to connect with some of our harder-toreach communities by disseminating over 26,000 free resources to rural, iwi and Pasifika Health Centres, early childhood education providers (ECEs), and Māori medium primary schools. Many of these resources were translated into Te Reo Māori and Samoan, and we hope to have more language translations in the future - access to health education should not be a barrier to healthcare.

Of course, a big thank you always has to go to our generous grant providers, donors and sponsors. We certainly could not do what we do without you, this is why I would like to say a special thank you

ARFNZ CE, Letitia Harding

to De’Longhi for once again offering us an online prize – the De’Longhi Tasciugo AriaDry 2-in-1 dehumidifier which raised over $1,000 for the Foundation.

This brings me to a very special announcement – the Foundation is pleased to launch the inaugural ‘Friends of the Foundation’ sponsorship programme, which you can learn more about on page 6.

By working with business partners who align with the Foundation’s values, and dedication to improve respiratory health for all New Zealanders, we can truly make a difference. You will be hearing more about Friends of the Foundation from me over the coming months.

Heading into the election on 17 October, a big focus for the Foundation will be to continue to raise our concerns to Government around the lack of funding, and value placed on NGOs in the health sector. We know that the next 12 months in the COVID-19 environment will be challenging, as we all struggle to fund the crucial services we provide.

Here at the Foundation, we work hard to deliver information and support to the 700,000 people living in New Zealand who are affected by a respiratory illness - and we will keep working hard to support them.

Noho ora mai ra