Nivedita Sharma Vij is a seasoned Health, Social and Wellness leader with over 25 years of experience, including two decades in Aotearoa New Zealand’s health, social welfare, and wellbeing sectors. A strategic systems thinker and advocate equity and Indigenous healthcare. She is a strategist, specialises in systems thinking, planning, execution, policy reviews & legislations, change management, continuous quality, safety improvement towards integrated health, Health Literacy, education, social care, and champions co-design, co-production and co-creation with inclusion of diverse communities and lived experience expertise.
A Fellow of ACHSM, NZ Registered Nutritionist (NSNZ Registration Panel Member, Mentor and Supervisor), Lifestyle Medicine Practitioner, and quality Improvement advisor, Nivedita also serves as Executive Council member, Chair of the Asian, Ethnic Caucus and Co-Chair of the Policy Review Committee at PHANZ, Deputy Chair of MECOSS, a Justice of the Peace, and White Ribbon Ambassador.

Nivedita brings lived experience to her advocacy—diagnosed with a genetic disorder and with whānau members affected by haemoglobinopathy, she is privileged to serve on the Board of Rare Disorders NZ, appointed in 2025. Her authentic leadership is grounded in compassion, cultural responsiveness, and a deep commitment to the wellbeing of vulnerable, underserved and marginalised communities.

Nivedita Sharma Vij

Our Collective

Rare Disorders NZ is the collective voice of all people living with a rare disorder and their whānau. Our rare collective is made up of more than 150 disorder-specific support groups.

Our work is informed by the issues important to our collective. We work together to improve healthcare and wellbeing for everyone living with a rare health condition in New Zealand.

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