Responses to NZHR’s attempts to engage with MBIE officials directly to increase health research investment allocations in the 2022 Budget have been inconclusive. The officials did indicate however that the government’s finances were coming under increasing pressure from the costs of responding to Covid 19 and that the Minister of Finance is therefore not viewing favourably proposals requiring new or additional expenditure. In response NZHR has decided to argue to the Minister directly for what we believe is a special case for increased health research investment.

In our letter we say that this matters because the country stands to forgo not only the approximately 3:1 economic returns from greater investment, but also opportunities to save New Zealanders’ lives – particularly the lives of the 7000 per year, including 1500 Māori, who die prematurely because the research which would identify effective interventions and innovations has neither been invested in nor been done.

See the letter here