Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: Oxfam Aotearoa

At COP30 in Brazil, New Zealand has joined other higher-income countries in reaffirming their pledge to triple climate funding for lower-income countries by 2035. Oxfam Aotearoa is calling on the New Zealand Government to make good on that promise to our Pacific neighbours.

Climate Change Minister Simon Watts told COP30: ‘In the Pacific, climate change is not a distant threat; it is a lived reality.’ Minister Watts went on to praise New Zealand’s international climate finance programme, saying: ‘we provide high-quality, grants-based, accessible, partner-responsive climate support, with over half going to adaptation action.’

But with funding for New Zealand’s international climate programme running out in December 2025, Oxfam Aotearoa is calling on the New Zealand Government to explain how this promise will be delivered.

“Minister Watts is right, New Zealand provides high-quality funding for Pacific communities to adapt to the lived reality of climate change. Let’s keep up the good work.” said Nick Henry, Oxfam Aotearoa’s Advocacy and Policy Lead.

“Oxfam Aotearoa is glad to hear Minister Watts reaffirm New Zealand’s promise to stand with the Pacific by funding essential climate adaptation projects. With only a month to go until the current programme runs out, we look forward to a further announcement on how this promise will be funded.”

Notes:

Oxfam Aotearoa’s recent report Pacific Resilience: How funding for climate action strengthens our regionshows the positive difference that climate funding from New Zealand has made since this support was increased from 2022.

• 50% of people with intellectual disability have a diagnosed mental health condition – more than twice the rate for people without intellectual disability 
• 9% have a mood disorder – three times higher than the rest of the population 
• 4% have been treated for a psychotic disorder – 13 times higher than people without intellectual disability 
• 11.5% of people with intellectual disability are smokers – almost double the national smoking rate
• 62% of people with intellectual disability visited the emergency department in 2023. They are 2.7 times more likely to attend ED than those without intellectual disability
• Children with intellectual disability are more than twice as likely to go without fresh fruit, vegetables, or protein compared with other children.  

The Reality Behind Self-Reported Health

Given their significantly lower life expectancy, high rates of preventable health conditions, and higher levels of unmet need, people with intellectual disability are far less likely to report being in good health than the general population. This stands in stark contrast to the overwhelmingly positive health ratings in the national survey.

IHC Senior Advocate Shara Turner says the findings show that people with intellectual disability continue to face avoidable and unacceptable health inequities.  

“What this data shows is that Government health policies continue to fail people with intellectual disability. Without meaningful, system-wide change, people with intellectual disability will continue to experience poorer health outcomes and much shorter lives.”

IHC has worked closely with the disability and health sectors for many years to identify a set of changes that will start to improve health outcomes for people with intellectual disability.

IHC is calling for:

• Government-funded comprehensive annual health checks for all people with intellectual disability, with a focus on preventive healthcare 
• Targeted preventative screening programmes and better monitoring of health outcomes, including a national intellectual disability marker in health records and wellbeing frameworks 
• Improved healthcare professional training, including mandatory curriculum and ongoing professional development on communication, ableism, bias, and human rights 
• Health literacy and advocacy support for intellectually disabled people and their families, including plain language resources, Easy Read formats, health passports, electronic health records, and evidence-based information 
• A twin-track approach to care, combining mainstream health services with specialist intellectual disability healthcare teams, including nurses and liaison officers 
• Better transition planning between paediatric, adult, and geriatric services 
• Reduction of overmedication with psychotropic medicines, modelled on programmes such as the NHS STOMP initiative 
• Inclusion of carers in hospital care teams and strengthening public health policies to improve health outcomes 
• Monitoring and review systems for mortality and health outcomes, modelled on UK programmes like LeDeR, to identify risks and guide system improvements. 

References

1 Beltran-Castillon, L., & McLeod, K. (Forthcoming). From Data to Dignity Reality Check 2026: Updated health and wellbeing indicators for New Zealanders with intellectual disability. IHC.

1 Beltran-Castillon, L., McLeod, K., & Stone, G. (2025). The Cost of Exclusion: Hardship and People with Intellectual Disability in New Zealand (p. 9389854 Bytes). IHC. https://doi.org/10.6084/M9.FIGSHARE.29387705.V1  

Source: Earth Sciences New Zealand

Source: Northland Regional Council

Source: NZ Principals Federation

Source: Quotable Value

Source: Greenpeace

Source: Kia Manawanui Trust | The Heart of Aotearoa New Zealand