38 New Community Projects to Tackle Indigenous Health Challenge
The Australian Government is funding 38 community-driven projects around the nation to encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to quit smoking, eat healthy, exercise more and better manage their own often chronic health issues.
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27 July 2011
The Minister for Indigenous Health, Warren Snowdon, said the Australian Government is funding 38 community-driven projects around the nation to encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to quit smoking, eat healthy, exercise more and better manage their own often chronic health issues.
“This is a $10 million investment in an innovative, grassroots program to encourage better health among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It is responsive to need and culturally appropriate because projects are developed by the local community, for the local community.
“The projects include providing fresh fruit and vegetables every day for local communities, promoting traditional health and healing, growing healthy food, encouraging homeless men to gather and cook bush tucker, and putting chronic disease messages to song.
“The range of projects represents the diversity of views in Aboriginal communities across the country about what is important health-wise, and the vastly different approaches to solving health problems, all tailored to local needs, culture and environment,” Mr Snowdon said.
The local Indigenous community campaigns have been funded as part of the Australian Government’s new Live Longer! health campaign.
Live Longer! is a $21.3 million social marketing program being delivered over four years and is an integral part of the Australian Government’s Indigenous Chronic Disease Package.
Mr Snowdon said Live Longer! is designed to lift people’s awareness of the risk and protective factors for chronic disease. In addition to tackling smoking, nutrition and physical activity, this includes promoting access to and uptake of frontline health care services to prevent and better manage chronic disease.
“Live Longer! is a call to action – to quit smoking, eat healthy, exercise more, drink more water and look after your health – all important factors in reducing chronic disease.
“The research tells us that to get Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people involved and engaged in programs that manage and promote health and wellbeing, they themselves need to be the drivers, developers and story-tellers of health messages.
“This program will promote the health priorities and needs that have been identified by the community itself, as well as better informing people of how they can access local primary or frontline care,” he said.
Mr Snowdon said the Government has consulted widely with communities and local health experts on the program, and he encouraged more communities to apply for the second round of grants.
“Grants range from $5,000 through to $500,000 depending on the scale of the project and how many people it will reach, and the second round of grants will close on 30 September 2011.”
The first round of grants invited applications from Aboriginal health organisations, cooperatives and non-government organisations to either build on existing projects or to start a new community driven project which will help individuals and families in communities to adopt healthier lifestyles.
For more information go to the Live Longer website
For a list of the grants go to the Live Longer website
For more information please contact Mr Snowdon’s office (02) 6277 7820
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