Hon Chris Hipkins

Minister of Health

The Government has provided the Cancer Society of New Zealand with a one-off boost of up to $650,000 to continue delivering its highly valued driving and accommodation services at increased COVID-19 Alert Levels.

"The Cancer Society plays a pivotal role in supporting people living with cancer in New Zealand," Minister of Health Chris Hipkins said.

"We know they provide essential support services, including accommodation and transport, which can be the difference between a person getting to treatment or not.

"Although the Cancer Society is generally funded by public donations with no direct government funding, we also know COVID-19 has hit the Cancer Society especially hard.

"COVID-19 has reduced the number of people available to volunteer. Fundraising activities have also been scaled back this year leaving the Cancer Society in a difficult position.

“Without support from Te Aho o Te Kahu, Cancer Control Agency and the Government, services provided by the Cancer Society would likely have been impacted within the next month. If driving and accommodation services stopped people with cancer might not be able to access their life- treatment in a timely way, or at all," Chris Hipkins said.

Diana Sarfati, Chief Executive of Te Aho o Te Kahu says, “This funding will ensure the Cancer Society can continue to provide the essential services many New Zealanders rely on.”

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