Shalala Visit To Learn From NZ's Innovative Health Programmes

United States Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala will visit New Zealand next week to view some of New Zealand's unique social programmes, Prime Minister Jenny Shipley said today.

Ms Shalala will visit New Zealand Monday 5 April to Friday 9 April.

"Ms Shalala is the second senior member of President Clinton's Cabinet to visit New Zealand in the past 12 months.

"She is a courageous pioneer of new ideas and programmes to improve people's health and quality of life through independence, and one of President Clinton's inner circle.

"It's very significant for New Zealand that a key policy-maker of the US Administration is here to learn from our experience of health and welfare programmes that work to improve people's lives."

The visit was confirmed by Mrs Shipley during her meeting with Ms Shalala in Washington in January this year.

Ms Shalala is the longest serving Secretary of Health and Human Services in US history, responsible for a variety of programmes including Medicare, Medicaid, federal welfare and children's programmes. She joined the Clinton Administration in January 1993, and is responsible for a fiscal year budget of around US$381billion.

"Over this time Ms Shalala has achieved incredible goals raising child immunisation rates to the highest levels in history; led the fight against young people smoking; created national initiatives to fight breast cancer, racial and ethnic health disparities and violence against women.

"We are showing Ms Shalala some of New Zealand's most innovative and diverse health and welfare providers and programmes. The potential for our ideas to be picked up and tried by her department back in the US is high," Mrs Shipley said.

Ms Shalala will visit services including the National Breast Screening Programme BreastScreen Aotearoa, Work and Income New Zealand (WINZ), and Te Puna Hauora O Te Raki Paewhenua - a marae based integrated practice offering community and primary care health services in Auckland.

Ms Shalala will deliver a keynote address at a function hosted at Parliament by the Prime Minister.

"Many western nations are confronted by similar social and health problems, particularly as our populations increasingly age. Ms Shalala's visit is an opportunity for her to see some of New Zealand's solutions to these issues," Mrs Shipley said.