A new report has found Australia lags badly behind other wealthy nations in addressing the health and wellbeing of its Aboriginal population.The report was commissioned by Oxfam and the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation and examined a range of key health indicators.
It found Australia was ranked at the bottom of a league table of wealthy nations such as New Zealand, Canada and the United States.
Oxfam executive director Andrew Hewett labelled the situation a “scandal”.
“If you’re an Indigenous Australian you’re going to die 20 years younger than most other Australians,” he said.
“That compares to similar countries where the gap is only about seven years.
Mr Hewett says governments should stop ignoring the issue.
“What’s lacking in Australia is the political will from governments of all parties at all levels and that’s what we need, we need to set a national target to close the gap between between health outcomes for Indigenous Australians and non-Indigenous Australians,” he said.
Here’s the full report from Oxfam.
