UCAN believes all people have a right to health.
That right is being denied to many in Aotearoa New Zealand through poor access to health services, unfair economic and education systems that strongly favour the wealthy over the poor, inadequate and unhealthy housing, and poor living environments that alienate vulnerable sections of the community.
We have not fully met our obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
We believe that, as a nation, we can and must do better than this.
Everyone should have access to affordable primary medical care when they need it, wherever they live. One in seven adults (14.9%) reported not visiting a GP because of cost in 2024/25, while one in four adults (25.5%) reported that the time taken to get a GP appointment was too long. Cost barriers were highest among Pacific adults (25.1%) and Māori (18.7%). Barriers to accessing primary medical care are also greater for disabled people.
Everyone should also have timely access to secondary healthcare, including specialist and hospital care, when it is needed.
A strong health system, with a focus on equity and social justice, is required across Aotearoa so that everyone can access the care they need, when they need it. At the end of December 2024, 77,740 people had waited more than four months for a first specialist assessment, while 34,615 people had waited more than four months for elective treatment.
Support a living wage and income for all, including beneficiaries. The gap between the rich and the poor is rapidly growing in New Zealand, and this is bad for our health. More and more New Zealanders in work don't get paid enough to meet their needs, eat healthy food, and live dignified and healthy lives. Just to survive, many are left with no time for leisure or opportunity to participate in society. In addition, poverty is a health-damaging reality for many beneficiaries, and especially for children living in poverty. In 2024/25, 17.8% of children were living in income poverty after housing costs, using the fixed-line AHC50 measure.
Support affordable, safe and healthy housing. We are failing as a nation to adequately house our children and other vulnerable groups. They are exposed to housing conditions that damage their health and are not fit to live in. You need a Warrant of Fitness for a car, but not a house. People with severe mental illness are often living in substandard temporary housing with insecure tenure. They have been betrayed by a failed market model for housing provision.
Support community centres and drop-in centres, with free internet connectivity and public transport. We are denying more and more groups the right to actively take part in our society. More people are working longer hours, leaving less time for involvement in their communities. We used to house people with severe mental illness in asylums. This role has shifted to the community, but the social contract that community support would be there has been broken.
Support improved access to healthy food, water and air. Regulate and tax foods high in sugar, fat and salt. Ban advertising of unhealthy foods and alcohol. Protect our water and the air we breathe from contamination.
Exposure of children to unhealthy foods and unrestricted marketing of unhealthy products are important contributors to later illness. Our water and the air we breathe need to be protected from contamination, as does the physical environment in which pollution is generated.
Support accessible educational opportunities for all. Student loans, unequal and unfair outcomes for children from poor communities, and reduced educational opportunities for the elderly and beneficiaries represent opportunities lost.
An entitlement that people have simply by being human, such as the right to life and the right to be free from torture or degrading treatment. The highest attainable standard of health is a fundamental right of every human being. Health is a reflection of a society’s commitment to equity and justice. Health and human rights should prevail over economic and political concerns.
Improved access to primary health care can reduce inappropriate use of hospitals and help to keep health care costs down overall. Healthier people in the community also have an economic benefit.
The main ideas are that health care is focused on health needs; involves an enduring personal relationship between health workers and the community, particularly for people with chronic illness; is comprehensive, not just focused on one illness; is continuous, with no barriers for patients needing care in both hospitals and the community; and is person-centred. It also recognises responsibility for the health of everyone in the community at all stages of life, tackles the determinants of ill health, and recognises that people are partners in managing their own health and that of their community.
Primary health care is a social justice and pro-equity approach to health care described in the World Health Organization’s Declaration of Alma-Ata of 1978. The principles of primary health care were reaffirmed and developed through subsequent international work, including the 2008 World Health Report and the 2018 Declaration of Astana.
It encompasses primary medical care, public health and action on the wider determinants of health, while supporting access to appropriate health services throughout the health system.
A living wage has been associated with improvements in areas such as employee retention, productivity and wellbeing. People are a country’s greatest asset, and our children are our future. Addressing child poverty through supporting a living wage and income is a wise investment in the future.
Housing is not a cost to the economy — it is an asset and an essential piece of infrastructure, as important as, if not more important than, a road, a bridge or an airport. Once built, it has a monetary value, in addition to its contribution towards nurturing the next generation.
Like housing, education can increase the overall wealth of the community. Barriers to educational opportunities do not make sense — at any age.
Many of these features will have a low cost or may even improve the economy. The country has enough wealth to provide for all its citizens if that is made a priority. Currently, the country’s wealth is poorly distributed, and the provision of basic rights for all citizens is a low priority. The economy has a profound influence on people’s health. Economic policies that prioritise equity, health and social well-being can improve the health of the people as well as the economy.
The UCAN Charter covers the issues its supporters see as most important at this time. There are a number of other important issues, such as the right to education and the protection of the planet from climate change, that we support but that are the subject of action led by other groups.
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