What the Paediatric Society of NZ Advocates For and Its Current Priorities

The Paediatric Society of NZ | Te Kāhui Mātai Arotamariki o Aotearoa (PSNZ) is currently advocating for an all-of-government approach to child poverty as a child health issue, alongside its longer-term strategic focus on improving outcomes for all tamariki — with particular attention to Māori, Pasifika, disabled and targeted groups. Its current activity spans clinical network development, workforce and leadership recruitment, palliative care, epilepsy training, and its annual meeting. These are organisational positions and activities, not individual medical advice — the Society states it does not provide health care or advice for patients.

The headline advocacy position: child poverty as a child health issue

The most recent advocacy item on the site is titled "Child Poverty is a Child Health Issue: PSNZ Calls for an All-of-Government Approach." The core argument is a framing one: child poverty is treated as a health matter rather than only a social or economic one, and the response PSNZ calls for is cross-government rather than sitting with a single agency.

For readers trying to understand where the Society puts its weight, this is the clearest current example — it is a public position statement, not a clinical guideline.

Strategic direction: the 2021–2026 plan

The PSNZ Strategic Plan 2021–2026 sets the frame the advocacy sits inside. Its stated aim is to improve outcomes for all tamariki, with a focus on:

• Māori
• Pasifika
• disabled and targeted groups

That focus explains why equity language runs through the Society's other workstreams — the clinical network, the lived experience group, and the advocacy statements all reference the same priority groups.

The Child and Youth Health National Clinical Network (CYHNCN)

The CYHNCN brings together health professionals and consumers with expertise in child and youth health, working in partnership to improve outcomes for tamariki and rangatahi across Aotearoa. Two features are worth noting for anyone deciding whether to engage:

• Consumer voice is built in. The Lived Experience Navigators (LENs) Rōpū is described as the voice of whānau and community within the CYHNCN — so the network is not purely a clinician forum.
• Leadership roles are actively recruited. PSNZ has posted an expression of interest for Co-Chairs of the network, which signals that its structure and governance are still being shaped.

What "Latest News" typically covers

The news feed is a useful proxy for current priorities. Recent items include:

A separate item promotes Paediatric Epilepsy Training (PET) courses in Aotearoa, designed to enhance care standards for children with epilepsy — an example of the Society's education and training role alongside advocacy.

Membership and who the Society is for

PSNZ membership is open to people involved with the health and wellbeing of tamariki and rangatahi across Aotearoa. The stated rationale is that members gain strength by working together to reduce barriers between disciplines and geographical regions — so the Society positions itself as a cross-disciplinary connector rather than a single-specialty body.

Important boundary: this is not a clinical service

The Society is explicit that it does not provide health care or advice for patients. If a child in your care is unwell, the site directs you to:

• Your General Practitioner (GP)
• Healthline — free advice from Registered Nurses on 0800 611 116
• Emergency Healthcare — dial 111 in an emergency

If you arrived at paediatrics.org.nz looking for advice about a specific child, that is the correct route. The site is a professional society presence: advocacy, networks, training and member news.