Misson Possible: Placing children at the centre Asthma Society/ Respiratory Conference September, 2013

What we’ll cover  The work of Every Child Counts  The big picture  Children’s voices  Everyone an advocate

Every Child Counts  Formed in 2004  Driven by Barnardos, Plunket, UNICEF, Save the Children NZ, Mana Ririki  Vision: A nation that values children and ensures that every child in New Zealand is secure, healthy and happy  Mission: Advocating for the policy, practice and attitudes that enable children to thrive

Every Child Counts  Objectives: Children at the centre of policy and planning A good start in the early years Reducing child abuse and neglect Ending child poverty, and Increasing status of parenting/ caregiving.

The big picture  Low public investment and relative invisibility of children  Children are the population group most likely to be in poverty, with Māori and Pasifika over-represented  We spend 5 times as much on people in their last 2 years of life as we spend on children in their first 5 years of life

The big picture  OECD ranking – 28 th out of 30  Rheumatic fever at 14 times the OECD average  25 percent (270,000) in poverty and those most likely to be in poverty are the youngest children (0-4 years)  About 160,000 children are considered vulnerable at any one time and there are around 21,000 confirmed cases of abuse and neglect every year

What do children say?  Families are the primary source of support for children, but government and community have a role  Children and young people want their parents to be well supported  Parents need to stop being angry

What do children say?  Parents need time to play with their kids  Hunger is a significant issue: food in schools and adequate family income are needed  “I think that you should maybe make better homes for kids.”  (From consultations with children by Barnardos and Save the Children)

What do children say?

For every child a healthy home  Election focus: Housing, income, support for parents and education Working with political parties – policies and coalition negotiations Men speaking to the solutions #healthyhomesnz

Housing and respiratory health  The unsatisfactory physical state of housing as a main contributory factor to poor child health in New Zealand – cold, damp, unventilated, over- crowded  Overcrowding is an important risk factor for nine major types of disease and is estimated to cause more than 1300 hospital admissions each year  Of the 270,000 children in poverty, over 70 percent live in rental accommodation: 20 percent in state housing managed by Housing NZ and 50 percent in private rental accommodation

Everyone an advocate  Local government and DHB elections 2013  General Election 2014

Proverb Nau te rou rou, naku te rou rou, ka ora ai te iwi. If we all contribute our skills, expertise, passions, strengths, whatever we can offer, we will all flourish. 