This November, the University of Toronto will host the 2014 Indigenous Health Conference, an opportunity for health care professionals and community members to discuss issues related to the health and wellbeing of Canada’s Indigenous population.
A recent report from the United Nations (UN) announced a dramatic gap between standards of living for Indigenous Canadians and non-Indigenous Canadians. In Canada, Indigenous youth receive less funding for education than non-Indigenous youth. Indigenous Canadians also fare poorly on every major health indicator, including life expectancy and infant mortality.
Anna Banerji, assistant professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and event founder, emphasized the importance of implementing basic protocols which would improve the quality of care available to Indigenous people.
“We have plenty of resources to go around,” Banerji said, adding, “It’s unacceptable that we allow these conditions to exist even though we can afford to do better.”
The conference takes place on November 20 and November 21.
With files from U of T News .
