New Zealand publishes first Rare Disorders Strategy Implementation Plan
New Zealand’s Ministry of Health has published the 2026-27 Rare Disorders Strategy Implementation Plan. This is the first implementation plan to be released since the publication of the Aotearoa New Zealand Rare Disorders Strategy 2024-2034 in July 2024.
The new document provides an overview of the implementation progress made over the past two years, and outlines specific implementation actions to be undertaken throughout the next year. These actions are listed under the five priorities set out by the Strategy:
- Gearing the system for quality and timely care
- Learning and sustaining progress
- Equipping the health workforce for quality rare disorders care
- Giving voice to people and their whānau* living with rare disorders
- Joining up internationally to achieve more
Following its publication, Rare Disorders New Zealand (RDNZ) voiced its support for the Implementation Plan as a meaningful step forward in improving the lives of the approximately 300,000 New Zealanders living with a rare disease and their loved ones. However, the organisation also highlighted the need for a more comprehensive framework to support implementation throughout the remaining 8 years of the strategy.
*whānau: a Māori word meaning family/loved ones
