To whom it may concern:
Please find below comments from the Nurses Professional Association of New Zealand (NPANZ), in relation to the proposed amendments to the WHO IHR, due to be accepted by NZ before 30th November 2023.
- NPANZ supports local decision making that understands the nuance of each community health care professionals serve. The proposed IHR amendments will centralise major health solutions to a global entity that is not well versed in the principles of Te Tiriti o te Waitangi.
- New Zealand nurses value cultural safety so any binding or non-binding changes to the management of New Zealand ‘health emergencies,’ ‘public health’ or ‘environmental issues impacting on health’ should be undertaken in a New Zealand specific context supplemented by ethical evidence-based research that is widely consulted on and supported by New Zealand clinicians.
- Removal of Principles that impinge on full respect for dignity, human rights and fundamental freedoms of persons, to one based on equity and inclusivity 'common to all parties' deserves absolute and full consideration by the people of New Zealand and their elected representatives.
- Specifically, NPANZ is concerned with the ‘one size fits all’ approach to health care that centralises power and removes the ability of local Kiwi communities to implement health care measures that should be proportionate and responsive to the needs of that community, especially in an emergency.
- It is our recommendation that nurses, many of whom shouldered the brunt of policy directives during the COVID 19 pandemic and will be at the forefront of future emergency health scenarios, are given the opportunity to assist in the development, and provide consultation on any health preparedness policy documents.
- NPANZ is concerned that the deadline to accept or reject the proposed amendments (by 30th November 2023) falls before we, as a nation, have had the ability to complete a thorough analysis of the lessons learned from our own COVID Pandemic Response. We therefore urge the NZ delegation to the WHO to reject the upcoming proposals in order for there to be more time for reflection and wider consultation.
Please feel free to reach out if NPANZ can be of any further assistance:
+64 4 887 6888
E: hotline@nursesunion.co.nz