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Health Promotion Journal of Australia December 2004 Volume 15, No 3
Practical measures that improve human rights – towards health equity for Aboriginal children
Sophie Couzos, National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation, Western Australia
Abstract
If Australian public health policy is driven by the need for health equity, then program gaps and the unaddressed health needs of Aboriginal children should be providing unambiguous direction for health sector investments. This, however, is not the case.
This paper details the urgent effort required to meet the needs of Aboriginal children and refers to lessons from within Australia and international studies. It provides examples where health policy and programs can be improved in the areas of child nutrition, hearing loss, immunisation coverage, and preventive health assessments. Recommendations include the need for the adoption of a policy framework for maternal and child health, concomitant national performance indicators, nutritional supplementation programs in order to ensure that no Aboriginal child shall suffer from malnutrition in rural and remote Australia, multifaceted measures to enhance the immunisation coverage of Aboriginal children and preventive child health assessments. Underpinning these measures is a need to augment the capacity of Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services across Australia as these services play a predominant role in delivering preventive health care, community development and support services to the Aboriginal population.
Stated commitments to social justice principles have not translated into 'practical measures' in Australia for Aboriginal children. There must be unequivocal commitment of a sufficient scale for practical measures to reduce health inequalities.
Health Promotion Journal of Australia 2004;15:186-92
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