Foundation forges international and trans-tasman partnerships
President John Knight, and Chief Executive Letitia O’Dwyer are pleased to announce that the Asthma and Respiratory
Foundation NZ is now part of the Global Alliance Against Chronic Respiratory Diseases (GARD) which is housed at World
Health Organization (WHO), and is also now in partnership with the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand
(TSANZ).
O’Dwyer says, “By aligning with reputable scientific organisations such as TSANZ and key opinion leaders in the field of
respiratory illnesses, it brings even more credibility to our position statements that we release to the public. Our
partnership and collaboration with both GARD and TSANZ is indicative of the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation NZ being
committed in improving respiratory health outcomes for all.”
GARD is a voluntary alliance of national and international organizations, institutions, and agencies committed towards
the common goal to reduce the global burden of respiratory diseases.
The Global Alliance is part of the global work to prevent and control chronic diseases. Because most of the chronic
respiratory diseases are under-diagnosed, under-treated and the access to essential medications in many countries is
poor, a global effort to improve the diagnosis and the medical care is needed.
“We were honoured that the Foundation was welcomed as a participant in GARD, as a New Zealand representative in making
prevention and control of chronic respiratory diseases a priority around the world,” says O’Dwyer.
TSANZ is the only respiratory health peak body in New Zealand and Australia, representing a range of professions
including medical specialists, scientists, researchers, academics, nurses, physiotherapists, students and others, across
various disciplines within the respiratory/sleep medicine field.
TSANZ is committed to preventing respiratory illness through research and health promotion, and improving health care
for people with respiratory illness.
“We are proud to work in partnership with ARFNZ as the leaders in respiratory health knowledge in New Zealand,” says
Tanya Buchanan, CEO of TSANZ.
ENDS