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There is a relatively low prevalence of HIV/AIDS in New Zealand. The rate of newly diagnosed HIV infections was stable at around 100 annually through the late 1980s and the 1990s, but rose sharply from 2000 to 2005. It has since stabilised at roughly 180 new cases annually. Heterosexual contact now accounts for roughly the same number of new cases as male homosexual contact, although most heterosexual infections are acquired overseas.[1]
The first recorded death in New Zealand due to AIDS was in New Plymouth in 1983.
In 1985 Eve van Grafhorst was ostracised in Australia since she had contracted HIV/AIDS caused by a transfusion of infected blood. The family moved to New Zealand where she died at the age of 11. By the time of her death her plight had significantly raised the level of AIDS awareness in New Zealand.
World AIDS Day is observed in New Zealand.
The Ministry of Health is the government department which deals with health issues, including HIV/AIDS.
The New Zealand AIDS Foundation is a registered charitable trust which focuses on prevention of AIDS in the most at risk group, namely men who have sex with men.
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