The Government has pledged an extra $60 million in funding for Pharmac to fund new medicines, including cancer treatments. 

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was alongside Health Minister David Clark at Auckland City Hospital on Sunday to reveal the Government's new national cancer action plan.   

Last year 23,000 Kiwis were diagnosed with cancer – an increase of almost 30 per cent in the past decade. That number is expected to increase further, by more than 50 per cent over the next 15 years.

Currently each of the country's 20 district health boards (DHBs) operate independently with some better equipped than others.

The approach has been labelled a "postcode lottery" by the Cancer Society, and prompted a long-running campaign to nationalise how Kiwis prevent, detect and treat cancer. 

The announcement has been eagerly-awaited by cancer experts, but the contents have been a closely-guarded secret.

The plan, which was committed to by the health minister during the Cancer Care at a Crossroads Conference in January, aimed to provide New Zealanders with access to fair and consistent cancer treatment around the country.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Health Minister David Clark announced a long-awaited cancer plan for the country at Auckland City Hospital's cancer ward.

"Cancer touches just about every one of us at some stage in our lives. On average 66 people every day are diagnosed with cancer – and they deserve world-class care," the Prime Minister said. 

"We campaigned on improving cancer care and establishing a national cancer agency because after years of underfunding by the previous government our standard of care is variable and we have work to do to ensure better outcomes for Māori and Pacific people."

The Prime Minister said the Cancer Action plan for the next 10 years would include actions to improve cancer care and outcomes, including:

• More medicines for more people through an immediate funding boost for PHARMAC and faster decision making process 
• Establish a Cancer Control Agency to ensure consistent standards nationwide
• Strengthen our focus on prevention and screening – fewer cancers, earlier detection
• Appoint an National Director of Cancer Control and create a single National Cancer Control Network
• Develop cancer-specific Quality Performance Indicators to improve equity of care

An extra $60 million in funding for Pharmac would mean it could fund a range of new medicines, including several cancer treatments. 

"From next year, PHARMAC will also speed up its decision making by considering applications for funding at the same time as Medsafe assesses the safety of new medicines rather than waiting until that work is complete as it does currently. Work on options for early access to new cancer medicines is also progressing well," Ardern said.

Health Minister Dr David Clark said the Government had listened to calls for strong central leadership and would deliver the promised Cancer Control Agency by December 1.

"Cancer care is woven into so much of the work that our public health service does, so while the Agency will have its own chief executive, it makes sense for it to be housed within the Ministry of Health," Clark said. 

Leading public health physician and cancer epidemiologist Professor Diana Sarfati has been appointed interim National Director of Cancer Control. 

"An immediate priority will be establishing quality performance indicators for specific cancer types. This will mean we can measure progress towards consistent care across DHBs," Dr Clark said. 

"We are also combining the four current regional cancer control networks into a National Network to help remove regional variations in care."

Prime Minister Jacinda Arden and David Clark speak to cancer patients at the cancer ward after the Action Plan announcement.

New Zealand First health spokesperson Jenny Marcroft welcomed the action plan. 

"We have some of the highest rates of cancer incidence in the world. This is exactly the kind of focused government action that will ensure Kiwis living with cancer have the best possible outcomes," Marcroft said. 

"New Zealand First stands with cancer sufferers and their loved ones calling for better, more timely treatment. There's much more to do, but today, the Coalition Government took the first step in that direction," she said.