An additional $2 million from the Budget is going towards making health care services easier for transgender people.
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Associate Minister of Health Ayesha Verrall said gender diverse people had experienced poorer physical and mental heath outcomes compared to the general population.
Gender affirming care aimed to support a person's healthcare goals which may include exploration of gender expression, support around social transition, hormone therapy as well as other treatment, she said.
"For far too long gender diverse people have experienced poorer physical and mental health outcomes compared to the general population. Our commitment is to build a health system that treats people with fairness and dignity, that is why we're making sure it becomes more responsive to people who have faced exclusion and prejudice," Dr Verrall said in a statement.
Eight primary health care providers would be set up throughout the country to provide affirming care to gender diverse people, she said.
The extra funding would ensure the needs of people who have been excluded and traditionally underserved, are met, Verrall said.
The government is also providing $2.5m in funding from the Budget to support health care for intersex children and young people.
It would go towards funding workforce training and development for health professionals dealing with intersex youth and investing in peer support and resources for intersex youth and their whānau, Verrall said.
"This will empower intersex children and young people and their whānau to make informed decisions about medical interventions and will better protect the rights of intersex children and young people within the health system and prevent unnecessary medical interventions from occurring," Verrall said in a statement.
Verrall said many health professionals had expressed a lack of knowledge about how to properly care for those who are intersex.
There needed to be an attitudinal shift in the health system from a medicalised health model towards one that focused on "providing the support and services that intersex people need to live in the way they choose," Verrall said.
