On World AIDS Day, Minister Matt Doocey announced new HIV counselling funding at Parliament to speed mental health support.

World AIDS Day, held every year on 1 December, remembers those who have died from AIDS and raises awareness of the ongoing pandemic.

Nearly 38 million people worldwide are living with HIV, and since the first AIDS cases were reported in 1981, about 75 million people have been infected and tens of millions have died from AIDS-related causes.

Doocey, Mental Health and Associate Health Minister, said the day was a chance to reflect on New Zealand’s progress in reducing locally acquired HIV infections and tackling stigma.

“This counselling service gives Kiwis faster access to support at a time they really need it,” he said.

The Burnett Foundation has received funding to launch a new wraparound counselling service, supported through matched funding from the Mental Health and Addiction Community Sector Innovation Fund.

The aim is to scale up support so that hundreds more people can see trained mental health professionals.

Alongside more face-to-face counselling, services will expand nationwide through online sessions.

Support will also extend to families, including those of people who have just received a new HIV diagnosis.

Doocey said the Government’s mental health plan focuses on faster access to support, more frontline workers and a better crisis response.

The announcement sits alongside the release of New Zealand’s first HIV Monitoring Report, which tracks progress on the HIV Action Plan and the goal of eliminating local transmission of HIV by 2030.

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