Rural health leaders are calling for urgent and coordinated action to address what they describe as serious, measurable, and preventable inequities facing rural communities across Aotearoa New Zealand. Released following the 21st WONCA World Rural Health Conference at Tākina Wellington, the Aotearoa New Zealand Declaration on Rural Health 2026 sets out a national framework for improving rural health outcomes and strengthening rural healthcare systems.

Following PHARMAC’s decision to fund additional medicines for use in community settings, including treatments for trauma and medical emergencies, and ketamine for palliative care - Hauora Taiwhenua says the change will materially strengthen urgent care in rural Aotearoa. For Clinical Director Rural Health, Dr Rebekah Doran, the announcement reflects both clinical necessity and sustained rural advocacy.

I grew up in Whakatane in the Eastern Bay of Plenty, which was a much smaller town then it is now. I went to the local high school, and I love living in small communities. I spent much of my adult life living on the Coast Road, just north of Greymouth. When I was there, I worked first at Grey Hospital, then as a GP in Greymouth. As well as working as a GP, I had the privilege of being Chief Medical Officer at West Coast DHB from 2009-2014 - the first GP to be a full CMO. This role led me to be very aware of the pressures on rural health services, and the othering of non-urban places and services in the health scene in NZ in general back then.