Additional support is being made available to ethnic communities to help them share information about COVID-19 vaccination within their communities, said Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Ethnic Communities Priyanca Radhakrishnan.

“We know we need to get everyone who qualifies in New Zealand vaccinated. A fund launched today will allow more targeted support to ensure that even people living in the hardest-to-reach communities can access accurate information about vaccinations, ”said Priyanca Radhakrishnan.

“The funding will allow community organizations to share material widely and to proactively contact members of their communities who rely on these groups and leaders for information. “

The fund will complement the government’s broader communication and engagement campaign on COVID-19 vaccination, which engages with ethnic communities and provides information in multiple languages ​​and through ethnic media platforms.

“New Zealand is a diverse country with over 213 ethnic communities represented who collectively speak over 160 languages, have diverse needs and can access information differently.

“Community organizations know how to reach members of their community and play a vital role in encouraging their members to get immunized. This fund will give them the resources to reach more people.

“We continue to work in partnership with ethnic community organizations to collectively do everything in our power to eliminate the COVID-19 virus,” said Priyanca Radhakrishnan.

The fund is provided by the Ministry of Health and was set up in partnership with the Ministry of Ethnic Communities. It will make $ 1 million available.

Ethnic community organizations will be able to apply for funding to support initiatives that increase communication and engagement.

Funding requests can be made on the Department of Health website – https://www.health.govt.nz/EthnicCommunitiesFundVaccine