EDITORIAL: ISSUE 1, 2010
Dear Readers,
Hello and welcome to the January/Feburary 2010, Vol 34 – No
1 issue of the Aboriginal & Islander Health Worker Journal.
The start of another year. What a great first issue cover
featuring the Official Launch of the Ngarandhi Peer Education
Project. Congratulations to all involved in this very important
project.
In Vancouver, BC on 1 December 2009, the Canadian
Aboriginal AIDS Network (CAAN) hosted a special presentation
luncheon to heighten the awareness of the increasing rates
of HI V infection amongst the Aboriginal Peoples of Canada.
The occasion coincides with the 21st Anniversary of Worlds
AIDS Day and launched Aboriginal AIDS Awareness Week. The
theme for World AIDS Day 2009 was “Universal Access and
Human Rights” to highlight and underscore the importance of
understanding HI V and AIDS from a human rights perspective;
the 2009 Aboriginal AIDS Awareness Week echoed this
important theme and how it pertains to Canadian Aboriginal
issues. It also relates to us as Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Australians.
“Universal access to HI V prevention, treatment, care, and
support is a critical part of Aboriginal rights,” states Ken
Clement, CEO of Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network. “Our
event will create a platform for us to explore legal, federal
and moral obligations to provide those basic health services
to the Aboriginal people – First Nations, Métis and Inuit –
who make up a unique segment of the concentrated HI V/
AIDS epidemic in Canada.”
The event gathered National Aboriginal organisations,
government delegates, and health care providers to speak
on Aboriginal issues, and discuss the challenges that are
experienced in accessing HI V/AIDS care, treatment and
support. HI V/AIDS is disproportionately distributed across
global populations, as it hits hardest in areas where structural
economic and development challenges are greatest. This
is mirrored in Canada’s Aboriginal communities, which
represented about 7.5% of all Canadians living with HI V in
2005. Aboriginal people are overrepresented among reported
AIDS cases in Canada and made up a startling 23.4% of new
HI V infections in 2006; 2.8 times higher than the infection
rate for non-Aboriginal people.
There is a lot we can learn from the Canadian experience. If
you were one of the two Australians who attended the launch
of Aboriginal AIDS Awareness Week in Canada, the Journal
would like to hear about your experiences and share them with
our readers. The Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network (CAAN) is
a not-for-profit coalition of individuals and organisations which
provides leadership, support and advocacy for Aboriginal
people living with and affected by HI V/AIDS , regardless of
where they reside. Art Zoccole is the current President of
CAAN. Go to www.caan.ca for more information.
On 30 November 2009, at the White House in Washington,
DC, the International AIDS Society (IAS) announced that the
XIX International AIDS Conference will be held in Washington
in July 2012. The IAS Governing Council decided to hold
AIDS 2012 in Washington following US President Barack
Obama’s October announcement that the nation would end
its entry restrictions on people living with HI V, effective 4
January 2010. The conference was last held in the United
States in 1990 in San Francisco, California. “The return of
the conference to the United States is the result of years of
dedicated advocacy to end a misguided policy based on fear,
rather than science, and represents a significant victory for
public health and human rights,” said IAS President-elect Dr
Elly Katabira, Professor of Medicine at Makerere University in
Uganda, who will serve as the International Chair of AIDS 2012.
“AIDS 2012 will be a tremendous opportunity for researchers
from around the world to share the latest scientific advances
in the field, learn from one another’s expertise, and develop
strategies for advancing all facets of our collective efforts to
treat and prevent HI V.”
The International AIDS Society (IAS) is the world’s leading
independent association of HI V professionals, with 14,000
members from 190 countries working at all levels of the
global response to AIDS . Members include researchers
from all disciplines, clinicians, public health and community
practitioners on the frontlines of the epidemic, as well as
policy and programme planners. The IAS is the custodian
of the biennial International AIDS Conferences. The XVIII
International AIDS Conference will be held on 18–23 July
2010 in Vienna, Austria. Registrations opened on 1 December
2009. Go to www.aids2010.org for more information.
On page 11 is the AMA media release, Improving The Health
of Indigenous Males: Longer Lives and a Better Quality Of
Life. The AMA Indigenous Report Card Series 2009 can be
accessed and downloaded at www.ama.com.au.
Let’s Talk Urban – Developing Young Indigenous Leadership
will be held 17–22 January 2010 at the Winbourne Conference
and Retreat Centre, Mulgoa NSW. An Indigenous cultural
experience for young Indigenous people between 14 and 17
year of age. For more information contact Cassandra on 02
8762 4215 or cassg@erc.org.au.
The National Rural and Remote Health Information
Infrastructure Program (NRHIP) funding program closes on
29 January 2010. Go to http://www.health.gov.au/nrrhip
and check Tenders and Grants for more information.
For information on the People’s Health Movement and the
People’s Health Movement Charter involvement in global activism
on public health, health equity and participation of civil society.
Go to http://www.phmovement.org/en or http://phmoz.org/
wiki/index.php?title=People%27s_Health_Movement_Australia
Applications for the Indigenous Governance Awards close on
21 January 2010. Go to www.reconciliation.org.au for more
information.
The Journal is seeking peer reviewers for our peer review
process and publication team. If you would like to be part of
our team of reviewers, please contact Kathy at the Journal.
Readers, please don’t forget to renew your subscription. Your
support goes a long way in a Community Controlled Health
Worker publishing organisation.
Until the next issue, Keep the Faith,
K athy Malera Bandjalan
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