Health research into cancer, diabetes and heart disease given $68.3 million in funding, minister Andrew Little announces – Stuff.co.nz

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Health minister Andrew Little announces research into cancer, diabetes and heart disease given $68.2 million in funding.

New health research into cancer, diabetes, and heart disease is getting more than $68.3 million in funding.

Health Minister Andrew Little announced the new funding on Tuesday. It is allocated through the Health Research Council of New Zealand, which covers 31 General Project grants ($36.64m), five Rangahau Hauora Mori grants ($5.91m), five Pacific Project grants ($5.79m), and four Programme grants ($19.99m).

The Government is committed to improving the health and wellbeing of all New Zealanders, and research is a vital part of the plan, he said.

Dr Jason Gurney (Ngpuhi) has been awarded nearly $800,000 to explore the growing crisis of diabetes and cancer co-occurrence and its impact on what happens to people with cancer.

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Andrew Little has announced more funding for research into cancer, diabetes and heart disease. (File photo)

The epidemiologist and senior research fellow at the University of Otago in Wellington wants to improve the quantity and quality of life for Mori and Pacific peoples who develop the diseases.

The two-year research project is a collaboration between the C3 Research Group and Professor Ross Lawrensons research group at the University of Waikato. It will explore the rapidly increasing rates of diabetes and cancer within Mori and Pasifika populations, and the impact of it becoming increasingly common for one person to have both conditions.

Little said the projects will have an immediate impact on the health system.

As I said earlier this year when I announced major reform of the health system, Mori and Pacific peoples are twice as likely to die young from conditions that could have been treated, and being Mori or Pacific even determines what sort of treatment you get, he said.

Our plan for dealing with this includes looking at why that is happening and finding effective ways to deal with it. Dr Gurneys research will help, and will also allow us to predict how many people are likely to have both diseases in future so we can plan for that.

More information and the full list of successful projects can be found on the Health Research Councils website.

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Health research into cancer, diabetes and heart disease given $68.3 million in funding, minister Andrew Little announces - Stuff.co.nz