Our partners - Rio Tinto

 

 

	Lessons from Canada - Dr Caroline Tait from the Indigenous Peoples’ Health Research Centre at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada talks about her work in fetal alcohol syndrome.

The urgent need to improve the health and well-being of Indigenous children was the focus of a two-day national symposium held in Perth in May.

 

The START OUT STRONG: A healthy beginning in life symposium was hosted by the Rio Tinto Child Health Partnership, an initiative of the Telethon Institute.

 

Institute Director Professor Fiona Stanley said the symposium looked particularly at ways to promote healthy pregnancy, and would highlight programs that are achieving results in three major areas:

• Reducing substance use during pregnancy
• Improved nutrition, including breastfeeding
• The first years of life.

“There’s no doubt that a healthy pregnancy is critical in providing children a solid start to life, “ Professor Stanley said.

 

“It’s so important that Aboriginal mothers and families are empowered with information and supported with adequate resources so they can make good choices to improve the on-going health of their babies.”

 

Professor Stanley said it was appalling that Indigenous children in Australia continued to suffer much higher rates of infant mortality and poor health including low birth weight, chronic infections and disability. As the pathways to both poor and good health start before birth and are heavily influenced by childhood factors, getting a good start is most crucial to enhance adult health as well.

 

“So much of this could and should be prevented. What’s so novel about this symposium is that it will actually look at programs that are having an impact, and allow communities from all over Australia to share that knowledge,” Professor Stanley said.

 

The Rio Tinto Child Health Partnership is an innovative collaboration that brings together the research experience of the Institute and our Kulunga Research Network with corporate partners Rio Tinto Ltd and the Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation Foundation and government partners in Western Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory.

 

This ambitious partnership aims to deliver improvements in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander maternal and child health by translating research findings into policies and health promotion programs that make a real difference to indigenous communities.