Letitia's Message

Well, it is nice to see some sun coming through, and the days a little longer after quite a cold and wet winter across the country. As always, the team at the Foundation have been working hard on all sorts of activities, education, awareness campaigns, and advocacy.

This year, instead of Breathe Better September, we decided to create the ‘Cough It Up’ campaign. This campaign was a new way to raise money and awareness of respiratory illnesses by hosting a range of auctions on Trade Me. It was generously supported by new and existing sponsors who freely donated goods and services. We would like to thank King Living, Deano Yipadee, Jolly Billboards, LEGO, Charlie Mollard, The Sleep Store, Olivia Wakefield Photography, Beko, Appliances Online, Good Fortune, Flight Coffee, Peoples Coffee, Emporio Coffee, and Mojo for these great items.

Our Friends of the Foundation Sponsorship programme goes from strength to strength. It was in June that we heard the good news from the government that they will be supporting the installation of wool carpets in Kāinga Ora homes. The Foundation offered our support for this initiative, and we would like to acknowledge our Gold Sponsors, Wools of NZ, who we know also welcomed the news. Using wool will benefit so many people, and will create safer, healthier and more sustainable living environments for families.

Our Friends of the Foundation programme isn’t just about sponsorship for the Foundation; it’s about partnering with companies that align with our core values to improve respiratory outcomes for all. So, if you are an organisation that wishes to support us, then please contact Paul Aschenberger at friends@arfnz.org.nz.

In addition to it being a busy time for the Foundation, it has also been an incredibly active time for the

Foundation's sister charity, The Heart of Aotearoa – Kia Manawanui Trust. You will have the opportunity to learn more about the Trust in the summer edition of the magazine in December – watch this space!

Heart and lung health have a huge overlap across a wide range of diseases, especially in COPD. In fact, people with COPD are at increased risk of ischaemic heart disease and cardiac failure because of the shared risk factors of age and smoking status. If you have COPD or a loved one has it, then it might be good to join the live broadcast of the Big Baton Pass on World COPD Day (Wednesday 19 November). You can find out more about this on page 16.

We will also be releasing the updated New Zealand COPD Guidelines at the New Zealand Respiratory Conference at the end of October. The lead author and the Foundation’s Medical Director, Professor Bob Hancox, will be presenting these. I would also like to thank Joanna Turner, the Foundation’s Education and Development Manager, who is one of the co-authors of the guidelines. Joanna has worked hard to bring everyone together to write these national guidelines, and that is no easy feat!

Joanna has also facilitated the update of the Inhaler Device Identification chart. The chart provides information on what asthma and COPD inhalers are available in New Zealand and if they are funded (fully or partially). The new update also includes the carbon footprint of each inhaler. A high carbon footprint inhaler is symbolised by a red footprint, while a low carbon inhaler is symbolised by a green footprint. The update is designed to empower patients and health professionals with further tools to make informed decisions. You can view the updated chart on page 14.

Now, finally, a bit of an update on our vaping education mahi. The Train the Trainers (TTT) programme dedicated to youth vaping education has now trained 50 educators, made up of health professionals, school educators and community leaders from around the country. The educational tools provided in this course will help these trainers to inform and empower rangatahi and young people within their community.

The one-day course is designed for anyone engaging with young people and their whānau about vaping harms. While primarily delivered in schools, it is also suited for community settings to ensure widespread awareness. Please contact Sharon Pihema if you want to know more at sharon@arfnz.org.nz.

Of course, this message wouldn’t be complete without acknowledging the generous support of our readers, our community funding groups, our donor family, our Friends of the Foundation partners and New Zealanders who share our goal of improving respiratory health in Aotearoa. Thank you for all your support, and we look forward to updating you in December with a very special magazine update.

Noho ora mai,

Letitia HardingAsthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ Chief Executive