Centre at UNBC Partners with UNICEF CANADA to Report on the Health Challenges of Aboriginal Children

June 24, 2009

The dire conditions facing many Aboriginal children in Canada are the subject of a report being released by the National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health (NCCAH) at the University of Northern British Columbia, and UNICEF Canada. The study shows that Aboriginal children fall well below the national average in health and well-being, and represents the first Canadian addition to UNICEF’s State of the World’s Children Annual Report.Some of the startling findings of the report include:

. Infant death rate for Inuit children is more than three times the national rate, and almost on par with Sri Lanka and Fiji
. The pregnancy rate of First Nations teenagers is seven times greater than that of other Canadian teenagers
. The Tuberculosis rate among some Inuit communities between 2002 and 2006 was 90 times higher than that of the non-Aboriginal population
. 40% of Aboriginal children under age 14 live in crowded homes – more than six times the rate for non-aboriginal children
. On-reserve First Nations child immunization rates are 20% lower than the national rate

“Many Canadians who might be unaware of what is going in their own national backyard, will be shocked,” says the centre’s Academic Lead Dr. Margo Greenwood, a professor of First Nations Studies at UNBC. “Children in First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities face challenges to their health and well-being that are totally unacceptable for any child.”

The report calls the disparities and gaps in funding and access to health care services one of the most significant children’s rights challenges facing the country.

– Announcement of UNICEF-NCCAH report
– Complete special report

Since its establishment at UNBC in 2005, the NCCAH has come to be recognized regionally, nationally, and internationally for its work helping First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities across Canada to realize their public health goals.

“The centre’s partnership with UNICEF Canada is one of many collaborations linking researchers, policy-makers, communities and health care practitioners,” says Dr. Greenwood. “A key goal is to help close the gap between what we know and what we do in the field of Aboriginal public health.”

Funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada, the NCCAH is one of six centers located across the country, each dedicated to key areas of public health including infectious diseases, environmental health, and healthy public policy.

A significant initiative for the NCCAH has been the bringing together of nearly 50 National Aboriginal Organizations in diverse fields together – housing, tourism, sports, culture, justice and more – to find common ground from which to contribute to better health outcomes for their peoples.

The NCCAH also brought international Indigenous participation to a 2008 World Health Organization report addressing global health inequities, and continues to contribute on the international front, such as at the recent United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York, and the UN General Comment on Indigenous Children and their Rights.

Contact:
Holly Nathan, Communications Officer, NCCAH – 250.960.5249
Michael Kellett, Communications Officer, UNBC – 250.960.5621

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