Professional Body Welcomes Funding For Transgender And Intersex Health

The Professional Association for Transgender Health Aotearoa (PATHA) welcomes today’s Budget announcement of $2.1M over 4 years to improve transgender and non-binary people’s access to primary health care services.

“In November 2020, PATHA’s Briefing to the Incoming Minister of Health emphasised the urgent need for an action plan to ensure equitable health outcomes for transgender people”, said PATHA President Dr Jaimie Veale. “Today’s Budget is an important step towards delivering reliable public access to gender-affirming healthcare, and a wider health system that delivers healthcare that is safe, equitable, and effective for transgender people”.

“Trans and non-binary people deserve equitable access to quality, gender-affirming health care in their local area”, said PATHA Vice-President Dr Rona Carroll. “As a practicing GP I know how essential it is that primary care is well supported to do this work, and am keen to see how this will look at the implementation stages”.

PATHA looks forward to working closely with the Minister and her officials on ensuring primary and community providers have sufficient funding, guidelines, and training to deliver gender-affirming services, and that referral pathways link trans and non-binary people to publicly funded secondary services.

PATHA advocates for the health, wellbeing and rights of transgender people. “This requires partnerships with trans and non-binary communities that recognise people’s rights to bodily autonomy, self-determination and to make their own health decisions based on informed consent”, said Dr Veale.

“Those rights apply to intersex people too, so PATHA strongly supports today’s commitment of $2.5M to introduce a rights-based approach to health care for intersex children and young people”.

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