Ethnic Communities COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake Fund

The Ministry of Health has made an extra $1m available to support Ethnic Community vaccination against COVID-19.

This money is administered, by the Ministry for Ethnic Communities through the COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake Fund. This makes funding available for community groups and organisations to support their efforts to get ethnic communities vaccinated.

Vaccination rates for the first two doses of COVID-19 vaccine are high among ethnic communities. This reflects the situation in the wider population. With Omicron spreading in the community the new $1m funding will be focused on booster shots and childhood vaccination. This will help protect  more people from the worst effects of COVID-19.

What does the fund cover?

Funding is available for activities and items that directly support vaccination uptake by Ethnic Communities. Our definition of ethnic communities includes migrants, former refugees, long-term settlers, and those born in New Zealand who identify their ethnicity as:

• African
• Asian
• Continental European
• Latin American
• Middle Eastern.

The fund covers costs, such as venue hire, catering, transport costs, interpreters, collateral, translation of official information and wellbeing support.

This list is not exhaustive and we will happily consider applications for things that have a clear link to getting people vaccinated.

The fund does not cover:

• Purchasing of fixed assets
• Salaries
• Activities designed to make a profit
• Financial support for people affected by lockdowns – other funding is available for this.

Who can apply

The fund is available to community groups, organisations and individuals. Applicants will need a bank account.

How applications will be prioritised

We want to help every community get vaccinated.

Priority will be given to:

• Activities that directly support people getting a third vaccination dose or booster shot
• Activities that directly support 5-11 year olds getting vaccinated
• Communities and/or regions where vaccination uptake is lower. This is based on the official vaccination statistics published by the Ministry of Health.

• The process

  There are three steps to using the Vaccine Uptake Fund: 1. Apply for funding 2. Run your project or activity 3. Provide a simple report on what was achieved.

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• Questions about the fund

  We have put together a list of frequently asked questions about the fund. You can also contact us at vaccinefund@ethniccommunities. govt. nz

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• Organisations who have been funded

  The following organisations have received funding: African Communities Forum Incorporated Aotearoa Africa Foundation Apna  Arasan New Zealand Trust Asian Family Services Asian Health Services - WDHB Asturlab Cultural Centre Authenticity Aotearoa Babylon Community Development Charitable Trust...

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