About Indigenous Health
The Hidden Health Emergency
There is a hidden health emergency in Australia that demands our immediate attention. Indigenous people now have a life expectancy more than twenty years less than other Australians, and Indigenous infants are dying at the same rate as babies in some of the most impoverished developing countries.
"Twenty years is just short of the standard measure of a generation. It represents a tragic loss and a waste, for Indigenous people and for Australia as a whole" - Gary Banks, Chairman, Productivity Commission Australia (2003)
This situation affects Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people everywhere in Australia. It is not confined to remote communities. Nor is it simply a "medical" issue - it relates to the underlying causes of ill health - nutrition, employment, housing, public and environmental health, and the lack of affordable food for remote Australians.
The problem is not intractable - there are solutions!
Solutions to Difficult Problems?
The Foundation seeks to raise awareness of the health emergency in Indigenous Australia.
The following thoroughly researched and accessible briefing papers (pdfs) listed below, provide accurate, relevant information on the current status of Indigenous health and its underlying causes.
Overview - Indigenous Health in Australia
(669kb)
The Health Emergency
Profile of Indigenous population and health status
Where does the money go? Funding for Indigenous Health
The social determinants of health
Housing and health hardware
Literacy, education and health
Prevention is better than cure - Comprehensive Primary Health Care
Nutrition and health: The Fred Hollows Foundation program
A brief history of health policy
Where can I get more information?
The content of these resource materials is drawn from a range of sources, including parliamentary inquiries, Commonwealth Government reports, medical and social research.