Home > Building on OUR Success > Individual Health

Individual Health

In order to prosper, we must be healthy.  Being healthy is a challenge for all people and has more challenges for our citizens. Since colonization our communities have been ravaged by disease and social problems that have left deep scars which require individual and collective healing.  Our families have suffered.

The National AFN has developed a “Blueprint on Aboriginal Health”, a 10-year plan to close the gap in quality of life between our citizens and other Canadians.  This plan provides a good guide to help decision-makers develop appropriate health policy.

The following sets out many of the key issues facing our communities with respect to key health issues as identified by health care professionals and our leaders.

1. The Child First
2. Jordon’s Principle
3. Health Education
4. Non-Insured Health Benefits
5. Nursing/Specialist Shortages
6. Patient Travel
7. Safe Drinking Water
8. H1N1 (swine flue)
9. Suicide
10. Residential School Syndrome
11. Diabetes
12. AIDS
13. Preventative health care

Regardless of the preferred approach a Nation may favour for delivering appropriate health care, health care, in any jurisdiction, remains one of the biggest costs to any government.  And these costs are only increasing. 

On a positive note, it only takes one generation to turn the situation around in a home, provided there is the support and adequate financial and other resources. 

In looking at ‘health’ we also must consider the governance of health. Some of our Nations are moving to take over jurisdiction for healthcare and healthcare management. Others are under delegated arrangements through local health authorities. We also have the BC First Nations’ Health Council.  This is the result of the First Nations Leadership Council and BC signing the Transformative Change Accord: First Nations Health Plan (Nov 2006). The Health Council currently serves as an advocacy voice of BC First Nations. We also must ensure that front-line health workers in our communities work closely with one another and where appropriate regionally, to ensure that the health needs of all our citizens are met and delivered consistently across BC regardless of geographical location.

The Child First

When we think of health, we must think first of the child.  The poverty, lack of education and opportunities, social oppression, substandard living conditions and the scars of the ‘Residential School Syndrome,’ have brought about severe social issues and social diseases which include alcohol addiction and drug addiction.  All of these obstacles create huge challenges for our children. The Chiefs have raised these concerns and have pointed out that there is little or no support strategies in place that can help us improve this lifestyle for the benefit of our children. 

In January of 2008 a First Nations’ Forum embarked on positive and solution-oriented dialogue concerning the health, safety and well-being of our children, youth, families and communities and to create a Child at the Centre Action Plan. I support the completion of this plan which should be a priority. Focusing on individual health starts with focusing on the individual health of the child.

Jordon’s Principle

Jurisdictional disputes involving who pays the costs of caring for our children happen all the time. These disputes are usually between different federal government departments or between the federal government and the provincial government.

In honor of Jordan, the little boy who died while in the care of the state, there has been a public movement calling upon all provincial and territorial governments as well as the government of Canada to immediately adopt a ‘child first principle’ to resolving jurisdictional disputes involving the care of First Nations’ children. Under the ‘Jordon Principle’, when a dispute arises regarding paying for services to one of our Children, the agency that is first contacted must pay for the services without delay.  This way the needs of the child get met first.  We need to support Jordan’s principle.

Health Education

We need quality health education to assist people in living a healthy lifestyle.  We must build on programs and services that promote healthy individual lifestyles such as: having a proper diet; knowledge about substance abuse (alcohol and drugs) and their impact on family and friends; safe sex and family planning; proper hygiene; and the importance of physical activity, including the promotion of youth and adult sport.

Non-Insured Health Benefits

Non-insured health benefits for our citizens have decreased and are continuing to decrease. Many of the services to our citizens now fall short of the benefits provided to the employees of our governments.  We need to look at ways to reinstate and improve our benefits to all our citizens. Some examples of reduced benefits include: sufficient dental services have all but stopped due to severe funding cuts and there is no access to regular dental care in many rural and remote communities; inadequate medical testing for detection of infectious diseases; lack of early detection procedures and follow-up for chronic disease; limited eye care services such as poor eye glass frame selection; hearing aids can only be replaced after several years which is proving too long; and counselling for mental health issues is too limited.

All those responsible for our citizens’ healthcare need to be aware what the sum of these changes will mean to our plans for becoming healthy communities.

Nursing/Specialist Shortages

Nursing shortages in our communities are resulting in the closure of health facilities and we are finding it difficult to be able to keep and attract staff.  It is also becoming harder for us to have specialists travel to our rural and remote communities to provide services. This problem is not just due to lack of money. We need more of our own people going into health care and then working in our communities. 

Patient Travel

Where there is no local or primary health care available, our citizens have to travel to urban centers. For the rural and remote reserves funding to help our citizens travel to received medical care is not adequate and does not permit our citizens to become or remain healthy  A full review of this program and its policies must be conducted in order to better serve our citizens. 

Safe Drinking Water

It is hard to imagine that in Canada there are still communities that do not have safe drinking water.  Walkerton was a wakeup call for all Canada and the federal government responded with to respect our communities by announcing a significant investment in water infrastructure on reserves and looking at how water systems are managed. The communities most at risk in BC need to be addressed as a priority. This is a basic human rights issue. However, in moving forward with ‘Nation Building’ we need to determine how our water systems are to be governed, managed and regulated and to take control of our infrastructure ourselves. This would be part of a Nation’s critical path in developing ‘strong and appropriate governance.’

H1N1 (swine flu)

H1N1 is a very real threat and the AFN, while not the lead body on this issue, must be prepared to assist the health professionals and our community leaders in preparing for, and dealing with, the pandemic that is already affecting our communities. Some experts are saying up to 50% of the North American population may be affected by H1N1, with higher percentages in our communities.  While conditions have definitely improved in many of our communities with better housing there is still significant over-crowding.   The H1N1, and especially if it mutates, poses a significant health risk, which could potentially kill hundreds of our citizens.  Given the timeliness of this threat, the H1N1 pandemic will be my primary health focus in the first six months of my term and I will work with healthcare professionals to ensure that our communities have adequate dosages of vaccination and ongoing education support about how to prevent the spread of infection.  At this point we do not have to panic, but we must be prepared as we are the most vulnerable segment of Canadian society.

Suicide

Suicide is a major issue facing our youth and families and our communities and remains at an alarming rate in many of our communities. Addressing this issue is a priority.  Steps need to be taken to identify funds and resources to address this critical issue. 

With so much opportunity for our youth already here or around the corner, it is deeply disturbing that so many of our young people still feel such hopelessness and despair that they will take their own life.  Suicide at the stem comes from poverty and unhealthy relationships. We need to ensure each child is supported and we need to nurture our youths’ self-confidence.  Parents need to be able to access quality and consistent service when they need a hand.  Suicide is the worst example of what the poverty cycle can do.  We can break this cycle by working together and promoting our opportunities to our people as each Nation implements its own critical path to end poverty. As I have said, this can be turned around in a generation. 

Residential School Syndrome 

Many of the mental health issues, family violence, and abuses facing our citizens emanate from the survivors’ experiences at residential schools and the impact on them and their families.  Their issues are both psychological as well as physical. 

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established to hear the Survivors’ stories and to assist in the process of healing.  The Commission’s work is very important and the programs and services available to the residential school survivors and their families are critical for many of our citizens to overcome the legacy of the residential schools. However the funding for this must be expanded to ensure that all victims have access to treatment – steps must be taken to ensure these services will be in place after the proposed end date of 2012.  

Diabetes

Diabetes affects our People disproportionately to other Canadians. We all have family and friends that are diabetics; including our children.  While there are many diseases that affect our citizens this is a particularly unique disease in how it is so pervasive in our societies. We need to ensure that the proper resources are available to help our citizens cope with this disease as well resources available for applied research in our communities.

AIDS

AIDS remains a serious threat to our citizens. While AIDS numbers may be dropping for other segments of Canadian society they are increasing in our communities.  We need to ensure AIDS awareness programs are not reduced and that the message of safe sex and the dangers of needle sharing are not lost.

Preventative health care

All of our financial resources for health are usually spent in addressing crucial immediate issues leaving no funds to dedicate to preventative health care.  This must change.