Government funded programme to reduce meth demand to launch in Gisborne next month
A Government-funded programme aiming to reduce the demand for meth in Tairāwhiti is expected to launch next month.
Health New Zealand sought proposals from “experienced Non-Government Organisations” earlier this year for a local programme.
The tender said the scope included “Pou whānau connector services, peer-led recovery groups, expansion of intensive, community-based treatment and workforce development”.
It is one of the initiatives funded through $28.73 million Health NZ approved late last year to be distributed nationwide over four years.
Health New Zealand Midland mental health director Vicki Aitken, in a statement, said the programme was “part of a coordinated, cross-agency response” to rising methamphetamine use and its associated harms.
“The programme was developed through a ministerial group led by the Prime Minister, alongside the Ministers of Justice, Police, Customs and Mental Health, reflecting a whole-of-government commitment to reducing the supply and demand of methamphetamine, minimising associated harms and improving access to support,” Aitken said.
“There are a range of different meth harm reduction initiatives already in other regions that are a mix of non-clinical peer support, whānau support, clinical interventions both in the community and within hospital and specialist services.
“This specific initiative was directed to the four districts that had some of the highest levels of methamphetamine use according to wastewater testing.”
According to wastewater data from police for the final quarter of 2025, Hawke’s Bay/Gisborne had the second-highest methamphetamine consumption in the country.
The contract was awarded to one of two proposals submitted in Tairāwhiti. Aitken said Health NZ was unable to announce the provider while final negotiations were in progress.
“The programme is anticipated to start in August 2026.”