Under Professor Howden-Chapman's inspirational leadership, He Kāinga Oranga's research has shown how straightforward housing improvements to cold, damp and unsafe conditions can significantly reduce rates of infectious, respiratory and cardiovascular disease and deaths, particularly for children and older people. This research and its studies have influenced public policy innovation and implementation, including the Winter Fuel Payment and the Healthy Homes Guarantee Act, and been rated as outstanding examples of housing intervention research internationally.
In this lecture Professor Howden-Chapman focuses on the priorities for housing at a time of cost-of-living pressure and stretched markets, and recent weather events in Aotearoa New Zealand.