Mortality Rates In Indigenous Children - Radio Interview Transcript
WENDY HARMER:
There's an extraordinarily disturbing report that hasn't appeared on any front pages we've seen this morning. It seems there's a mortality rate amongst Indigenous Australian children that's five times higher than children from other backgrounds. And we're talking kids under the age of five. I mean it's hard to believe, isn't it, in 2005. And apparently things get worse as these kids get older.
Dr Mukesh Haikerwal is the President of the Australian Medical Association; he's ducked out from his very busy surgery in Melbourne. Thanks for joining us Dr Haikerwal.
MUKESH HAIKERWAL:
Wendy, good morning.
HARMER:
This is an extraordinary mortality rate, isn't it? Five times higher than other kids.
HAIKERWAL:
Certainly, the new report really tells us what unfortunately we've known for some time but really confirms that the health of the children from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds is significantly worse. And if you break it down to each age group, it's pretty bad as well.
You know, in the first year of life there's about twice the rate of childhood death and when you get up to five years it increases, and unfortunately this is something that we've known for some time.
HARMER:
What are they dying of?
HAIKERWAL:
Well there's a variety of things, but because they come into life being particularly small they come into life behind the eight ball because of maternal ill-health. And of course their own living conditions and so on give them a very bad start in life.
One of the things we can really do about this is to make sure we have very good maternal and child help programs so that we look after mums - and bubs, when they're still in the uterus - and also in the early years through weaning, make sure they get immunisations in early at the right sorts of times through the early years of life so they can reach teenage years and beyond in a much stronger position to strive through the rest of life.
HARMER:
And what happens - apparently things get worse as they get older. Is that right?
HAIKERWAL:
Yeah, look, what's striking, and I think this is something that we tend to hide behind, I suppose, if you look at figures from the United Nations and also from our own Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, in third world countries when kids actually reach the age of five they've got a pretty good chance of surviving beyond that.
So if you take, say, Nepal or India or Thailand, you know, your chance of reaching the age of 65 is around 60 to 70%. For Australians it's just under 90% - 90% of us can expect to get to the age of 90. In Aboriginal males there's only 25%.
HARMER:
Oh, 25%….?
HAIKERWAL:
Twenty-five percent, and for Aboriginal females it's 35%. So that's a wicked number.
HARMER:
Oh, that is absolutely appalling.
HAIKERWAL:
Yep. So you know…
HARMER:
I'm quite shocked by that. So 90% of us would reach the age of 65 years, and 25% of…
HAIKERWAL:
…Aboriginal males…
HARMER:
…Aboriginal males…
HAIKERWAL:
…And 35% of females. And that really sort of - when you look at the figures in that sort of stark way it really make us say look, the work that we're doing we need to do harder. We need to be advocating - that's what we're doing, we're putting a lot of effort into advocating in this area.
But it's not just advocating and shouting to put in more money, it's for saying when things are working and working well, let's talk about them and spread them nationally.
Lets get the - and it's happening - let's get the communities to say what it is they need in their health care. But give them the right sort of people to help them make the right sorts of informed choices in that area so they can actually get out and get the right care for themselves.
HARMER:
Now I know that you asked the Federal Government for an extra $400 million for indigenous health there at the AMA. How much did you get?
HAIKERWAL:
Look, in the last Budget it was about $40 million, but it's the first government that's actually put any more money into Aboriginal health for an awful long time. It's still a small step; we'd like to have seen more. But we need to see it targeted and targeted to things that work, and we need to sort of trumpet the real successes, and there are many of them out there.
HARMER:
Mm. It really is extraordinary because you've got a group of people that - there's no grandmas left or grandpas and no uncles and aunts, and so, you know, there's no one there to sort of pass on any wisdom about life and how to get through life.
HAIKERWAL:
It's just really interesting. I chaired a meeting on Wednesday where all the specialist groups came along, and of course the geriatricians hadn't seen many Indigenous people in their age demographic, and that's a very stark thing.
And I think that there are older people thank goodness in the Aboriginal community who do have some of that knowledge which they do pass on, but sadly they're very few, and all we've got to do is make sure that we look after the mums and bubs and make sure the kids get through the early years stronger so they reach teenage years.
And make sure they've got something to do in the teenage years and don't go off and go off the rails because that's the other tragedy, once they get into those years there seems to be very little for them to do and it's important that the social things are also there - employment, the social networks, the skills to cope with life every day.
HARMER:
Well, you know, what you're pointing out there is a problem that's sort of apparent over every level of life, and a very complex one, but the figures are a disgrace. I mean we've got to get down to it.
HAIKERWAL:
Well, absolutely. We're certainly pushing very hard to sort out the good things - let's spread them across the country, let's get our communities working together and let's work with them and make sure that they get a good deal.
HARMER:
Good on you. Well thanks very much for talking with us this morning.
HAIKERWAL:
Wendy, you're welcome.
HARMER:
Thank you. Dr Mukesh Haikerwal, President of the Australian Medical Association.