Parliamentarians for Arthritis

Yesterday I launched the group Parliamentarians for Arthritis.

There are a number of parliamentary groups; most of them are friendship groups between New Zealand and other countries. The Parliamentarians for Arthritis group is just the second health-related group. The other is a diabetes group.

The purpose of the group is to raise awareness and understanding of arthritis amongst all members of parliament but holding occasional briefings and providing updates. There will be two or three forums per year between Arthritis New Zealand and other groups interested in this disease – for example The New Zealand Orthopaedics Association, Osteoporosis New Zealand, the New Zealand Rheumatology Association and the Bone and Joint Decade.

Half a million New Zealanders have arthritis and this is expected to grow to over 750,000 by 2020. It is expected that this will significantly add to the burden of musculoskeletal disease which is increasing with the ageing of the population.

We are in an increasingly dynamic policy environment for arthritis. Advances in drug therapies, stem cell research, and other exciting developments will challenge policy makers and politicians. This group will help contribute to meeting that challenge.