New Zealand is on track to record its lowest number of new HIV diagnoses in decades – but advocates say progress is at risk because stigma and outdated laws still shape the lives of people living with HIV.
Just 95 people were diagnosed with HIV in 2024, with even fewer expected this year. But, despite the medical advances behind that decline, discrimination remains widespread.
Judith Mukakayange from Positive Women Inc said she still sees stigma harming families.
“I got a call about a family denied emergency housing because the mother is living with HIV. They believed she could transmit HIV just by sharing a house, which is not true.”
Burnett Foundation Aotearoa CEO Liz Gibbs said outdated criminal laws also contributed to the stigma.
“If you don’t declare your status, you can be criminally prosecuted under current New Zealand law. But, if someone is on treatment and has an undetectable viral load, they cannot transmit HIV, and therefore shouldn’t be criminalised.”
Rodrigo Olin German, who has lived with HIV for 22 years, said too few New Zealanders understoodd the science behind modern treatment.
“Very few people know that people with HIV cannot pass it on if they are on effective treatment. We need more education and wider national campaigns.”
A history of acceptance – a present-day problem
New Zealand once prided itself on its compassion toward people living with HIV. In the 1980s, Eve van Grafhorst, a young girl ostracised in Australia after contracting HIV through a blood transfusion, was welcomed in Aotearoa and able to live a normal life.
Advocates say that spirit has faded, and that public attitudes today are still shaped by fear rather than science.
Survey reveals widespread misunderstanding
New research released ahead World AIDS Day highlights the scale of the problem:
- 41% of New Zealanders are not comfortable having food prepared by someone living with HIV
- 82% say they would be uncomfortable having a sexual relationship with someone with HIV
- 23% would be uncomfortable shaking hands.
Calls for law reform and access to medication
At a World AIDS Day breakfast at Parliament, the Burnett Foundation called on the Government to update HIV criminalisation laws and improve access to modern medicines.
Gibbs said New Zealand was significantly behind other countries.
“Some of our medication regime is 15 years or longer behind best practice in OECD nations. In other countries, you would have access to long-acting injectable treatment.”
Government response
The Government says there are no current plans to review HIV criminalisation laws.
However, officials have been asked to provide advice on endorsing the U=U campaign, which highlightedthat HIV can be both undetectable and untransmittable with the right treatment.
Advocates say embracing U=U publicly, updating the law and improving medication access could put New Zealand on track to become one of the first countries in the world to reach zero new transmissions.
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