Supporting people with migraine disease in Aotearoa New Zealand

Migraine Foundation Aotearoa New Zealand is the only registered migraine charity in New Zealand supporting people living with migraine

Migraine disease is a debilitating neurological condition. An estimated 642,000 people live with migraine in New Zealand. It’s more prevalent than diabetes, epilepsy and stroke combined, however migraine is misunderstood, under-diagnosed, under-treated and under-researched.

People with migraine living in Aotearoa have limited access to migraine support, specialised care and treatment and migraine-specific medications.

Migraine Foundation Aotearoa New Zealand provides a collective voice for people in New Zealand living with this invisible and disabling condition.

Join the Migraine Foundation Aotearoa New Zealand support group

Help get Emgality funded in New Zealand

People with migraine in Aotearoa New Zealand deserve funded access to preventive medications that are safe and effective.

Help support our application to Pharmac for Emgality funding and raise awareness of the impact migraine has for individuals, whānau and society.

Your voice can make all the difference.

Visit the Emgality advocacy toolkit

Our vision

To minimise the health, economic and social burden of migraine disease in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Our mission

To raise awareness of the impact of migraine disease and support people living with migraine in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Acute treatment for migraine attacks

March 15th 2023Migraine is such a common disease, you’d expect all health professionals would know the best treatments and how to manage acute attacks. Unfortunately, this often isn’t the case. Migraine isRead more

Phases of a migraine attack

February 28th 2023We’ve become more familiar with the phrase ‘Migraine is more than just a headache’ but what does that mean, exactly? In one sense, it means that the type of headache experienced during aRead more

A positive response from Pharmac

February 20th 2023On 20 January 2023, we sent Pharmac a letter, signed by all four of New Zealand’s headache specialists, raising concerns about its slow handling of the funding application for erenumab (Aimovig), tRead more

What’s wrong with Will Jordan having 'a migraine'?

February 16th 2023What a week! No sooner did the wrath of Cyclone Gabrielle move away from Aotearoa leaving devastation in its wake, than Kiwis were hit with the news that All Blacks and Crusader Will Jordan will missRead more

Feeling judged or misunderstood by your partner because of migraine

February 14th 2023It’s bad enough living with a chronic neurological condition that causes unpredictable attacks of pain, nausea, fatigue and brain dysfunction for no apparent reason. It’s even worse when the peopRead more

The three blobs of our logo

January 31st 2023If you’ve ever wondered why there are three overlapping blobby ovals in the Migraine Foundation Aotearoa New Zealand (MFANZ) logo, we have a variety of explanations. The main phases of migraineRead more

Pharmac goes around in circles on Aimovig funding application

January 20th 2023If you know anything about innovations in migraine treatment, you would have heard of the new migraine-specific medications for prevention of migraine – calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP)Read more

Holidays start – and along comes a migraine attack

December 16th 2022It’s a familiar story – the end of the year, finishing up at work, rushing around to prepare for Christmas, packing up for a holiday away, then finally, you can relax and enjoy a break. ExceptRead more

The power of a crystal-clear day

December 12th 2022Migraine attacks come in phases for many people. They start with a constellation of possible symptoms, from fatigue, neck stiffness, yawning, sensitivity to light, sound, touch and smell, foodRead more

Emgality advocacy toolkit launched

December 6th 2022At the end of November, we submitted a consumer application to Pharmac to fund Emgality (galcanezumab) for the treatment of chronic migraine. Read our press release here To coincide with ourRead more

Migraine Foundation submits application to Pharmac to fund Emgality

December 1st 2022Press release Migraine Foundation Aotearoa New Zealand has submitted a consumer application to Pharmac to fund Emgality (galcanezumab) for the treatment of chronic migraine. Emgality is one ofRead more

Managing Your Migraine: Book review

November 15th 2022Dr Katy Munro from the National Migraine Centre in the UK published a book in 2021 called Managing Your Migraine. It’s easy to read and informative and should be on the to-read list of every personRead more

Migraine Foundation Aotearoa New Zealand is led by volunteers passionate about improving the migraine landscape in Aotearoa

Please donate

Living with migraine disease can be challenging. Those of us with migraine know that it’s more than just a headache. Migraine is a whole body disease that affects everyone differently.

It can feel isolating, yet in New Zealand there are hundreds of thousands of people living with migraine.

Members of the Migraine Foundation Aotearoa New Zealand community share their stories about living with migraine and how there’s hope, even when some days it can feel like a struggle.

Read their stories

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Migraine Foundation Aotearoa New Zealand Incorporated is a registered charitable organisation under the Charities Act 2005. Our charity registration number is CC60312.

The information on this website is for informative purposes only. Migraine Foundation Aotearoa New Zealand is not a medical organisation. Please consult your healthcare professional for specific migraine treatment advice. All quotes featured on the website are real quotes from people in Aotearoa New Zealand living with migraine.

This website contains links to websites operated by third parties. Migraine Foundation Aotearoa New Zealand is not responsible for the content on these websites and provides links for reference only.