Indigenous health - more needs to be done
AMA President, Dr Kerryn Phelps, said today that the problems in indigenous health in Australia require not just greater funding but a more strategic approach to how that funding is allocated.
Dr Phelps was responding to today's report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) detailing expenditure on health services by all levels of government for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians between 1995-96 and 1998-99.
The AIHW report indicates that, between 1995 and 1999, spending on health services for Indigenous Australians increased by five per cent more than that for non-Indigenous Australians.
Dr Phelps said that while the trend is welcome, the size of the increase would do little to address the extent of unmet need in Indigenous communities.
"While the funding for indigenous health may be five per cent higher than for the rest of the population, we must remember that the health of indigenous Australians is much more than five per cent worse than the rest of the population," Dr Phelps said.
"The increase in funding is a good start, but more needs to be done.
"Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities must be in a position to shape their health services so that they address local priorities that are culturally appropriate.
"It is also essential that the basic infrastructure such as clean water, sanitation, appropriate housing and transport - taken for granted by other Australians - is available to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities irrespective of where the communities live.
"We need greater accountability from State and Federal Governments to achieve measurable quality of life and health outcomes.
"Until there is an unassailable commitment to overcome the poverty and desperation of our most disadvantaged citizens, we are not taking the issue seriously enough."
The health of Indigenous Australians is the worst of any group in Australia, with lower life expectancy at birth, higher infant mortality rates, and age-standardised death rates that are approximately three times higher than those for non-Indigenous Australians.
Research undertaken by Professor John Deeble for the AMA recommended that an additional $245 million a year is needed to meet the unmet need in Indigenous health in Australia.
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