Friday May 6, 2022 - Parents Voice Aotearoa wants to acknowledge those whānau who have lost their mums and who will be experiencing Mother’s Day without their loved ones. 

Over the years, we have come to know so many families who have fought endlessly against Pharmac and the Government to fund medicines, rather than spend what precious time they have left making memories with their mothers, sisters, daughters, aunties, and grandmothers. We know too many women who have advocated for a better future for all New Zealanders who are now no longer with us. On this Mother’s Day, we send our love and thoughts to those families.

Also, this Mother’s Day, we urge all women who may have been cautious about or unable to access regular screening appointments during Covid disruptions, to do so as soon as possible. The backlog of overdue mammograms and cervical smears needs to be cleared, so as many women as possible live to see more Mother’s Days.

Finally, we urge the Government to immediately release its review of the drug buying agency, Pharmac, and to explain why, when the report has been sitting on the Minister’s desk for over two months, it has gone to select Government agencies including Pharmac but not to patient groups like Patient Voice Aotearoa who have long been advocating for this very review to take place. We can only but hope in the time it has been with the Minister, the report is not sanitised and the criticisms diluted. Many of the women who were central to pushing for the review and who hoped to see the results of their advocacy are no longer with us.

Release the review! Happy Mother’s Day.

For further comment please contact:

Fiona Tolich: 021 533 822

Penny Tucker: 021 2560 454

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