Advocacy

UNLOCK THE MEDICINES NEW ZEALAND NEEDS.

Thousands of Kiwis are waiting for medicines they may never receive. Not because the medicines don't exist. Not because they don't work. Because New Zealand won't fund them.

Hundreds of medicines (funded and available in Australia, the UK, and other countries) remain out of reach for New Zealanders. It's enough to fill an entire pharmacy. So that's what we did.

The Forbidden Pharmacy opens to the public in Auckland on Saturday 25 July. Come and see what New Zealanders are being denied, hear the stories behind the medicines and stand with the people calling for change.

Breast Cancer Foundation NZ is one of 17 organisations fighting to unlock the medicines New Zealand needs.

Saturday 25 July 2026 (10am - 5pm)
Shed 10, 89 Quay Street, Auckland

In 2016, BCFNZ first presented evidence to the Health Select Committee to support raising the free mammogram age from 69 to 74, sharing the voices of vivacious older women, all diagnosed with breast cancer over 69. 

Thanks to sustained advocacy for more than eight years, in 2024 the Government announced the roll out of age extension to 74. 

Since the pilot began in Nelson-Marlborough, and the nationwide roll out in 2025, more than 190 breast cancers have been found in women aged 70-74.

This is a significant achievement, which couldn't have happened without your support. You can read about the impact of age extension below.

Access to healthcare should never depend on where you live or what you can afford.

Yet many people with breast cancer face significant travel and accommodation costs to receive specialist care, creating financial pressure that can delay or disrupt treatment and deepen existing inequities.

Breast Cancer Foundation NZ is part of a coalition of more than 30 health organisations advocating for improvements to the National Travel Assistance Scheme. Together, we are working to remove financial barriers to care by ensuring the scheme remains accessible, adequately funded and responsive to the real costs of travelling for treatment. Because everyone deserves the same opportunity to receive timely, life-saving healthcare, regardless of their postcode.

New Zealand spends just 0.4% of GDP on medicines, compared to an OECD average of 1.4%. We spend just 4.9% of health spend on medicines, compared to an OECD average of 13.3%

By either measure, we are genuine outliers. The worst performers against comparable countries. And that gap is measured in lives cut short, financial hardship and devastating impacts for families and communities. 

In October 2024, Keytruda became funded for advanced triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). Breast Cancer Foundation had advocated for Keytruda for many years - acknowledging that this agressive subtype of cancer had no other treatment options. Now, we need to see it funded for early stage TNBC where evidence shows it can reduce the risk of recurrence by 32%. There is currently a petition signed by 17,096 New Zealanders calling for Keytruda to be funded for early-stage TNBC. Catherine Cooke will present to the health select committee on 22 July about the vital need for this medicine. 

In January 2025, Enhertu (trastuzumab deruxtecan) was funded for advanced HER2 positive breast cancer. This vital life-extending medicine is now allowing more New Zealanders and their families precious time and memories while living with breast cancer. But there's more work to do. It remains unfunded for advanced HER2-low breast cancer despite significant evidence it extends time without progression of breast cancer. 

Read more about the gap between medicines funding in Australia and New Zealand