World Health Organization report "Closing the gap in a generation" supports First Nations position
AFN press release (see link to WHO report below)
AFN National Chief Calls for Urgent Government Action in light of recent WHO Report
OTTAWA, Aug. 29 /CNW Telbec/ - Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine is urging the Government of Canada to take immediate action in light of the recommendations presented in the recent World Health Organization (WHO) Report entitled "Closing the gap in a generation: Health equity through action on the social determinants of health" issued this week. The three overarching recommendations of the report are particularly applicable for First Nations in Canada. The AFN has repeatedly called on the Government to adopt a social justice approach to achieve fairness, equity and improve the quality of life for First Nations.
Among the recommendations, the report states: "Inequity in the conditions of daily living is shaped by deeper social structures and processes. The inequity is systematic, produced by social norms, policies, and practices that tolerate or actually promote unfair distribution of and access to power, wealth, and other necessary social resources."
In light of the current state of government inaction to level the playing field for First Nations, National Chief Fontaine challenges this Government to work with the AFN to effectively address the challenges and issues that exist in First Nation communities and which continue to impede First Nation citizens. The WHO report also notes that unsafe drinking water, access to housing, high suicide rates and the inequitable distribution of power, money and resources directly impacts life expectancy.
National Chief stated that "we have been calling on the Government to address these and other determinants the WHO report accounts for the inequity and social justice gap. First Nations have been facing these challenges for too long. We hope that the international spotlight on the very same issues that plague First Nations as a result of Government inaction will encourage a change in Government response. It is now time for action. It is now time for change. The Government has an obligation to tackle the serious issues that affect the lives of First Nations. Canada is not necessarily 'the best country in the world' for all its citizens."
The Assembly of First Nations is the national political organization representing First Nations citizens in Canada.
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/For further information: Joan McEwen, Director of Communications, (613) 241-6789, ext. 242, cell (613) 324-3329, jmcewen@afn.ca/
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WHO Final Report of the Social Determinants of Health
August 28, 2008
Closing the gap in a generation: Health equity through action on the social determinants of health
August 28, 2008 - These "social determinants of health" have been the focus of a three-year investigation by an eminent group of policy makers, academics, former heads of state and former ministers of health. Together, they comprise the World Health Organization's Commission on the Social Determinants of Health. Today, the Commission presents its findings to the WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan.
"(The) toxic combination of bad policies, economics, and politics is, in large measure responsible for the fact that a majority of people in the world do not enjoy the good health that is biologically possible," the Commissioners write in Closing the Gap in a Generation: Health Equity through Action on the Social Determinants of Health. "Social injustice is killing people on a grand scale."
"Health inequity really is a matter of life and death," said Dr Chan today while welcoming the Report and congratulating the Commission. "But health systems will not naturally gravitate towards equity. Unprecedented leadership is needed that compels all actors, including those beyond the health sector, to examine their impact on health. Primary health care, which integrates health in all of government's policies, is the best framework for doing so."
Sir Michael Marmot, Commission Chair said: “Central to the Commission’s recommendations is creating the conditions for people to be empowered, to have freedom to lead flourishing lives. Nowhere is lack of empowerment more obvious than in the plight of women in many parts of the world. Health suffers as a result. Following our recommendations would dramatically improve the health and life chances of billions of people.”