Australia

Indigenous children at Ghumarn Cultural Centre, NT. Photo: Claude Ho.

Professor Fred Hollows worked tirelessly to tackle the crippling health conditions and inequities experienced by Indigenous Australians.

Overview

Fred took eye care to some of Australia's most remote Indigenous communities, he was at the forefront of the establishment of Aboriginal controlled medical centres, and he spoke out about the shameful state of Indigenous health compared to the health of all other Australians.

Fred Hollows was committed to improving Indigenous health. Photo: Stephen Ellison With Fred as our inspiration, The Foundation’s work in remote Australia goes beyond eye care – we are helping to build strong and sustainable health systems in remote communities in the Northern Territory, Queensland, New South Wales, Western Australia and South Australia.

In many remote communities across Australia, levels of poverty and infant mortality are comparable to those in some developing countries, with the life expectancy of Indigenous Australians approximately 10 years less than that of other Australians (11.5 years for men and 9.7 years for women).

The Foundation supports projects that tackle eye health, aural health, nutrition, and maternal and children’s health.

We support community engagement and development projects, and research into Indigenous health, education and housing.

And we're working to ensure that the 10-year gap in life expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians is closed within a generation.

Achievements 2010

Through The Foundation’s Australia program we:

Eye health

performed 62 cataract operations and 28 other eye procedures on patients from Central Australia and the Barkly region during two surgical intensive weeks held in Alice Springs
continued planning for the new eye clinic at Alice Springs Hospital – part of the Central Australia and Barkly Integrated Eye Health Program
provided optometry services and affordable spectacles
led eye health system reform in Central Australia and the Barkly region

Speaking out

supported the Close the Gap coalition – bringing public attention to the health issues facing Indigenous Australians
contributed to Indigenous policy debate – especially about food security for Aboriginal people in remote areas, and the Commonwealth’s Northern Territory Emergency Response measures
provided diplomacy and advocacy training to Indigenous people, including health professionals
supported qualitative research into Indigenous health, education and housing – the results will guide the development of our programs

Nutrition

trialled a nutritional supplement to combat iron deficiency in Indigenous infants, and a peer support program for mothers on healthy feeding for babies
gave legal and logistical support to the remote Roper River community of Urapunga in the NT to establish its own store, offering fresh food and affordable groceries

Families

supported treatment of chronic middle ear infection in young children in the East Katherine region
devised new ways to deliver child and maternal health care in remote communities in South Australia through a new Nganampa Health Council partnership
supported a youth drop-in centre in Wilcannia in far western NSW

Literacy

supported the Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF) which distributed 13,700 books to schools and other organisations across Australia
the ILF also funded five remote community literacy projects and continued the Book Buzz Project, which introduces young children to reading and encourages family members to read with them.

Women's development

Banatjarl Women’s Council was elected – made up of women from Jawoyn communities. Members now want to see cultural regeneration and family support programs offered through the Banatjarl Family Resource and Healing Centre.
Women from the Jawoyn region travelled to other healing centres to learn and exchange ideas. They shared health and culture knowledge at camps and spoke on Indigenous issues at international conferences.
More than 10,000 copies of Kukumbat gudwan daga (Really cooking good food) cookbooks are now beingused by Indigenous people throughout Australia.
The cooking show ‘Shepherd’s Pie with Augie and Major’ was launched at the Walking with Spirits Festival and aired on national television. The showreceived popular acclaim amongst the Jawoyn communities and beyond.

About the program

The Foundation tackles poor health in Indigenous communities through strong partnerships with local Aboriginal health services and Indigenous organisations, and the Commonwealth and Northern Territory governments. Lesley Stafford after his eye operation at Alice Springs Hospital. Photo: Hugh Rutherford

We support:

the Central Australian Integrated Eye Health program, which aims to clear the backlog of cataract and other eye health diseases in Central Australia
the Outreach Optometry program, which coordinates private optometrists to visit remote communities
the Ready Readers program, which stocks Community Stores with ready-made spectacles, similar to those sold in suburban pharmacies
eye health promotion campaigns which target nutrition, injury prevention and eye care
aural health checkups, tackling middle ear infection (which affects almost half of the young children in some communities in the East Katherine region)
the Indigenous Literacy Foundation – a partnership with the Australian Book Sellers Association and the Australian Publishers Association, providing books and learning resources to remote communities
good nutrition – Indigenous people suffer high rates of nutrition and diet related chronic disease. We boost the supply of healthy food through local community stores, produce gardens, school breakfast programs and training in healthy food selection and preparation
community engagement and developmentthrough support and training for community leaders and cultural event managers
training, management advice and networking opportunities for Indigenous women – women's centres provide essential services in remote areas including meals for the aged, child and maternal health programs, and family crisis support, as well as giving women a voice within the community
training and skills developmentfor remote communities, including training in governance, management and diplomacy; financial literacy; health care; information technology; events management; food preparation and handling

Facts and figures

More than a third of Indigenous homes in the Northern Territory (NT) are over-crowded, putting people at greater risk of infectious diseases and other physical and mental health problems. Recent studies show:


Eye health	In the Northern Territory, nearly 20% of Indigenous children under 10 have active and infectious trachoma, an eye disease that causes blindness if left untreated, and 32% of Indigenous people over 20 have corneal scarring.
Aural health	Up to 40% of young children in Indigenous communities living in remote parts of Australia are affected by chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM), a serious middle ear infection that causes permanent hearing loss. The World Health Organization considers Australian Indigenous people to be a 'special high risk group' for CSOM.
Life expectancy	approx. 10 years less than for other Australians (lowest in the Northern Territory with 61.5 years for men and 69.2 years for women). Indigenous Australians aged 35 to 54 are 23 to 37 times more likely to die from type 2 diabetes than other Australians in that age group.
Infant mortality rate	13.6 per 1000 in infants less than one year of age in the Northern Territory, twice the rate of non-Indigenous infants
Nutrition	13% of Aboriginal children 0-5 years in remote NT are underweight and 31% of 6-12 months were anaemic, according to the ‘NT Healthy under-Five Kids’ program (2009).
Literacy rate	only a third of Indigenous children living in very remote communities can read at the accepted minimum standard.

Sources:

Experimental Life Tables for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, 2005-2007, 3302.0.55.003, Australian Bureau of Statistics, May, 2009

The Health and Welfare of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples (cat no. 4704.0), Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2008

Making Progress: The health, development and wellbeing of Australia's children and young people. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2008

Guidelines for the public health management of trachoma in Australia,Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing, 2006

Chronic suppurative otitis media: Burden of illness and management options, World Health Organization (2004) p.18

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Aboriginal communities