About the campaign

Imagine a world where geography does not define a patient's fate.

MyLifeMatters is a collective of patient advocate organisations representing more than 1 million patients with cancers, rare disorders, diabetes, and other life limiting conditions calling for the New Zealand Government to start investing in new and breakthrough medicines at the same level as other OECD countries.

Our mission is to raise awareness, promote policy changes, and engage politicians to ensure that there is equitable access to essential medicines for all Kiwis.

At the heart of this campaign lies a shared vision: everyone in New Zealand should have access to affordable and essential medicines.

We are in crisis and our politicians need to act.

Why do medicines matter?

By not keeping up with population growth and growing inflation New Zealanders are missing out on new and breakthrough medicines that could have life-changing benefits.
Adequate investment is needed to maintain a robust health system and provide access to medicines that are part of international standards of care.
Patients are being disadvantaged, having to privately fund, source, move countries, or go without treatment they desperately need. The burden is particularly hard on vulnerable communities, leading to adverse health outcomes, and reduced quality of life.
New Zealand’s health system is already over-burdened, new and breakthrough medicines would make a difference if they were available to our healthcare professionals treating patients.

How is New Zealand performing with medicines?

New Zealand has funded only 8 percent of the modern medicines launched in the OECD between 2011 and 2020, while Australia funds 105 modern medicines that New Zealand does not. New Zealand is also slow to publicly fund new medicines, being on average twice as slow as comparable countries.

How does this 8% deliver for New Zealand’s biggest health issues?

The above is the percentage of modern medicines New Zealand has funded that were launched in the OECD between 2011 and 2020.

for
Cancer

for
Mental Health

for
Rare Disorders

for
Diabetes

for
Arthritis

The statistics you should care about.

is the estimated investment required to clear the wait list of 109 applications sitting on Pharmac’s Option for Investment List.

$417 Million Dollars

$181 Million Dollars

is the shortfall Pharmac faces in the health budget from 2024 to maintain access to the same list of funded medicines including new medicines funded in 2022/23.