Letitia's Message

We hope everyone is getting ready for the cooler months, which means looking after your health, ensuring your flu and COVID vaccinations are up-to-date, and checking your home is winter ready.

Winter is a busy time for the Foundation. We see more and more people downloading the many free resources we offer online to help keep them up-todate with the latest respiratory health information. The theme of this year's World Asthma Day (WAD) was ‘Asthma Education Empowers’ which is why the funds raised went towards upskilling our respiratory healthcare professionals by enrolling them in the e-Fundamentals asthma and COPD online training course. If you know someone who deserves a free enrolment, please let us know (details on page 12).

This May marked a special milestone for the Foundation, as we celebrated our 60th anniversary. We also hosted the 2024 Respiratory Achievers' Awards to recognise people with a respiratory condition who have made notable achievements while managing their condition and living a full and active life.

You can find half of the winners on pages 6 and 7, as well as photos of the 60th anniversary and awards evening on pages 4 and 5.

Once again, I would like to thank G.J. Gardner Homes for supporting the Awards. G.J. Gardner are our Platinum Friends of the Foundation Sponsor, and, like us, want to see people living in warm healthy homes. With over 700,000 people living with a respiratory condition in Aotearoa, there is certainly the need!

You can spot some of our other Friends of the Foundations partners throughout the magazine, and on the Foundation's website.

If you are an organisation that is interested in being a partner, please contact Chloe (chloe@arfnz.org.nz) or Martin (martin@arfnz.org.nz).

Each year, more than 350,000 school days are estimated to be lost to asthma-related symptoms in children and we know these cold winter months can trigger asthma flare-ups. Make sure you download the Child Asthma Action Plan from the Foundation's website and ask your healthcare practitioner to personalise it for you. We also have a downloadable Child Asthma Symptom Diary. All of these are free of charge.

The Foundation recently released a new, free resource - Asthma: Fundamental Information. This is an all-in-one informative booklet for those 12 years and over that can help you to better understand and manage your condition, from recognising the various symptoms and triggers of asthma, to how prescribed asthma medications work. Go to page 15 to find out more.

Our wonderful ambassador Nick Ashill began his epic run across Australia in April. Nick is running across Australia to raise awareness of the Foundation’s work, and the resources we offer to help those suffering with respiratory illnesses such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), bronchiectasis and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

To see Nick's amazing Aussie adventures, see page 8.

This message wouldn’t be complete without a shout-out to the mahi we are doing in the vaping educational space from our vaping educational workshops in schools, to our evidence-based advocacy to the Government and Ministry of Health. Our lead Āpiha Takawaenga (Māori Community Liaison) Sharon Pihema and our Tāmaki-Makaurau Youth Vaping Educator Penelope Joyce continue to provide youth vaping educational workshops in schools. To date, they have delivered over 150 workshops around the motu, with another 160 booked for the remainder of the year.

It was a fantastic opportunity to submit on the Australian Therapeutic Goods and Other Legislation Amendment (Vaping Reforms) Bill 2024. The Foundation is a strong supporter of Australia’s prescribed medicine approach to regulating vaping so that it stays out of the hands of youth. We hope that the New Zealand Government follows suit and invests in a similar model.

The Foundation receives no government funding, so all our work is made possible by the generous support from our community funding groups, our donor family, our Friends of the Foundation partners and Kiwis who share our goal of improving respiratory health in Aotearoa. The money raised goes into our essential work providing resources, education, and advocacy on behalf of the 1 in 7 Kiwis with respiratory conditions.

Noho ora mai,

Letitia