46109 (2024). Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall to the Minister of Health

46109 (2024). Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall to the Minister of Health: What progress, if any, has been made in the quarter January to March 2024 to ‘Commission approaches to support greater health and wellbeing making the healthy choices the easy choice for people at risk of chronic conditions and for families raising small children’ under section 2.1 ‘Pae ora Better health in our communities’ within Te Whatu Ora’s Te Pae Tata: Interim New Zealand Health Plan 2022?

Hon Dr Shane Reti: I am advised during the January to March 2024 quarter, Health New Zealand supported a range of activities aimed at making healthy choices an easy choice for people at risk of chronic conditions, and for families raising small children. These included: - Continuing to deliver the ‘From the Couch’ programme run in partnership with Brown Butterbean Motivation and Total Healthcare - Continuing to provide lifestyle education to patients with pre-diabetes and their whānau (lead by the Diabetes Care Coordinators at Diabetes New Zealand) - The Heart Health Plan pilot, which helped people create lifestyle goals around making healthier choices for improved heart health, ended as scheduled during the quarter, and work began during on capturing learnings for the next steps. - Healthy Families Invercargill, alongside the Murihiku Kai Collective, finalised their ‘Good Food Roadmap – Feeding Murihiku’ that was launched in April. This is a two-year deep dive into Southland’s food system and outlines the challenges and opportunities for strengthening food security and food resilience in the region.