Prince George Citizen (June 29/09) - 'Startling findings' seen in Aboriginal study

http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/20090629199835/local/news/-145startling-findings-146-seen-in-aboriginal-study.html

Dire conditions facing many aboriginal children in Canada are the subject of a report being released at UNBC's National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health and UNICEF Canada.

The study, showing aboriginal children fall well below the national average in health and well-being, produced some "startling findings," says Dr. Margo Greenwood, a professor of First Nations Studies at UNBC and the centre’s academic lead.
The study found the 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

The study also shows that 40 per cent of aboriginal children under age 14 live in crowded homes, which is more than six times the rate for non-aboriginal children, and on-reserve First Nations child immunization rates are 20 per cent lower than the national rate

"Many Canadians who might be unaware of what is going in their own national backyard will be shocked,” said Greenwood. Aboriginal children "are facing health and well-being challenges that are totally unacceptable for any child,” she added.

"A key goal of the NCCAH is to help close the gap between what we know and what we do in the field of aboriginal public health," said Greenwood, who works with UNICEF Canada in linking researchers, policy-makers, communities and health-care practitioners.

Funded by the federal Public Health Agency, the NCCAH is among six Canadian centres dedicated to key areas of public health including infectious diseases, environmental health, and healthy public policy. A significant initiative for the NCCAH has been to bring together about 50 national aboriginal organizations in fields of housing, tourism, sports, culture, justice and more to find ways that lead to better health outcomes for their people.