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Practical measures that improve human rights – towards health equity for Aboriginal children
Author(s) -
Couzos Sophie
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
health promotion journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.515
H-Index - 32
eISSN - 2201-1617
pISSN - 1036-1073
DOI - 10.1071/he04186
Subject(s) - population health , health economics , equity (law) , health equity , public health , human rights , community health , health promotion , health policy , medicine , environmental health , economic growth , political science , public relations , nursing , economics , law
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.