Better health services ‘the key’ to reducing Indigenous child mortality

Australia needs to boost hospital and birthing facilities in rural and regional areas in order to overcome entrenched Indigenous health disadvantage, according to Rural Doctors Association of Australia CEO Peta Rutherford. On Wednesday, the prime minister released the 12th Closing the Gap report, which highlighted just two of the seven targets were on track to be met. The report revealed successive governments failed to meet health and jobs targets for Indigenous Australians but made improvements in education. Ms Rutherford told Sky News she is particularly concerned with successive government failure to halve Indigenous child mortality rates. "A lot of this is about access, it's around health literacy," she said. "It's also about the holistic care, it's also around education, housing and a whole range of other things". She said a problem doctors face is "an ongoing problem to maintain rural birthing services", which is having a direct impact on Indigenous child mortality. Via news.com.au — Australia’s #1 news site https://www.news.com.au