Health & Recipes

A total alcohol ban will begin this weekend at an Aboriginal community where there's been a high rate of suicide and alleged sexual abuse. The remote community in Western Australia's Kimberley region has been the focus of a coronial inquest. The Coroner described the suicide rate as horrific and recommended a full alcohol ban. Late yesterday, West Australian police announced that the six members of the community had been charged with more than 150 child-sex offences. They expect to lay more charges. The response from the Kimberley Land Council is that governments need to provide more support to such communities.

Chlamydia, one of the world's most common sexually transmitted infections, can lead to infertility in men as well as women, a new study shows.

It's a well known fact that Indigenous Australian's don't live as long as the rest of the population. They have higher levels of diabetes, kidney disease and heart disease. In some cases those conditions are made worse by a lack of treatment, but not always. A new study claims the treatments often aren't effective because there's a lack of communication between the doctor and the patient. The study of the patients with kidney disease in the Northern Territory has shown that many are confused and frustrated because they don't understand their illnesses or the complicated treatments.

While much of the Federal intervention has focussed on the plight of children, old people are also finding it tough in Arnhem Land.

The Federal Government's intervention into the Northern Territory's Aboriginal communities must continue. A review of the intervention has found a waiting list of Aboriginal children needing urgent follow-up medical and dental treatment after the initial child health checks.

The Aboriginal Health Council in Western Australia says doctors in Indigenous communities are drastically underpaid. Some doctors working for Aboriginal medical services across Australia are being paid up to $100,000 less than other doctors in rural areas; and the Council says the discrepancy makes it harder to attract doctors to work with Indigenous people.

The Mayor of the Northern Territory town of Katherine says problem drinking has worsened under the intervention because people from dry remote communities are coming into town to drink. Anne Shepherd is now calling for alcohol to be allowed in the communities again to help solve the problem.

The NT coroner has recommended more cultural awareness training and Aboriginal interpreters in the health care system after an elderly man's death two years ago. The 78-year-old man had been flown home to a remote Aboriginal community after hospital treatment and died after being left alone at the airstrip. The man's family claims institutionalised racism contributed to his death.

Traditional owners from a remote Arnhem Land community in the Northern Territory want one of the biggest museums in the world to return their ancestors' remains. The Smithsonian Institution in Washington recently handed back some bones, but it kept a collection of skulls taken during an expedition 60 years ago.

Health and Indigenous research groups are calling for more research into the health of Australian prisoners. They want an audit of health services and options for Indigenous prisoners, whose numbers have grown in recent decades.