Balloon Day

Asthma is the leading reason for Kiwi kids being hospitalised and about 1 in 4 of our children has the illness, which takes a huge toll on New Zealand, the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation says.

Kiwi star actor Kirk Torrance has talked about his youngest son being hospitalised for asthma and his own time in hospital with the illness when he was a child.

Young gun Labour MP Jacinda Ardern has voiced her support for the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation’s Balloon Day campaign.

Tariana Turia today spoke of the affects of her asthma on her family and came out in support of the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation’s Balloon Day campaign.

‘Asthma has challenged us as a whanau for over a decade now,’ the Minister responsible for Māori health says.

Balloon Day is the Foundation’s annual awareness and fundraising campaign, which this year centres on an events day—Balloon Day on Saturday 9 May – during Asthma Awareness Week, 4 to 10 May, 2009. Money raised through Balloon Day goes towards childhood asthma research.

About 1 in 4 Kiwi kids has asthma and the illness is the leading reason for Kiwi kids and young people being hospitalised. Māori asthma statistics are particularly alarming. For example, from 2003 to 2005, the leading cause of public hospital admissions among children aged 1 to 4 was respiratory disease. Admissions for asthma among this group were 60 percent higher for Māori than non-Māori.