New Zealand's Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne has launched a national five-year mental health and addiction plan called Rising to the Challenge. Over the past 20 years, mental health funding in the country has risen more than fourfold, to $1.2 billion, with three-quarters of funding going towards community care.
The new national plan sets out the priorities until 2017, including better cooperation between governmental and nongovernmental agencies; better care and coordination among primary care practices, specialists in the hospital, and community-based services; more emphasis on youth mental health and earlier intervention; and improved services and outcomes for high-needs populations.
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