Health of indigenous People
The World Health Organisation estimates that there are about 370 million indigenous people living in more than 70 countries worldwide. The official definition of “indigenous” has not been adopted by the UN. However, a broad term to describe “indigenous” has been developed by the WHO Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/) and includes people who:

• Identify themselves and are recognised and accepted by their community as indigenous
• Demonstrate historical continuity with pre-colonial and/or pre-settler societies
• Have strong links to territories and surrounding natural resources
• Have distinct social, economic or political systems
• Maintain distinct languages, cultures and beliefs
• Resolve to maintain and reproduce their ancestral environments and systems as distinctive peoples and communities

Other terms that are used to describe indigenous groups are tribes, first people/nations, aboriginals or natives depending on which country a person lives. Some words in native languages to describe Indigenous people have crept into the English language eg. Orang Asli in Malaysia, Veddahs in Sri Lanka, “Pygmies” or “Batwa” in Central Africa. “Children born into indigenous families often live in remote areas where governments do not invest in basic social services. Consequently, indigenous youth and children have no access to health care, quality education, justice and participation.” (United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues: UN Document E/C.19/2005/2).

In January 2010, the United Nations published the first report on the State of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. This report specifically states that indigenous people from all over the world continue to suffer from high rates of poverty, poor health, education, employment, human rights, environmental, cultural and other facets of their life and is summarised below:

Health
Infections: In the USA, a Native American is 600 times more likely to contract tuberculosis than others. HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases such as malaria are also high in these groups.

Diabetes: The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have the highest prevalence rate of 27% which is six-times higher than the general population and worldwide more than 50% of indigenous adults suffer from type 2 diabetes.

Reproductive Health: About 60% of childbirths in Indigenous people take place without pre-natal care.

Suicide: Suicide rates amongst Inuit youth in Canada are 11 times the national average.

Throat cancer: In Ecuador, indigenous people have more that 30 times higher risk of throat cancer than the national average.

Infant Mortality: Highest in all indigenous communities across the world.

Life Expectancy: Indigenous peoples’ life expectancy is up to 20 years lower.

Culture
It is estimated that 90% of all Indigenous languages will disappear within 100 Years and it is estimated that there are between 6,000-7,000 oral languages in the world today and most are spoken by a few people. A great majority of these languages will become extinct within a few years. Language is not only a communication tool, but is also an essential component of one’s individual identity and provides a sense of belonging and community. When the language dies, often the sense of community belonging is destroyed.

Australia
The Indigenous population is 2.4% yet 19.9% of all adult prisoners were Indigenous, the unemployment rate in 2006 was 15.6%, over 3 times the non-Indigenous rate and the median income was just over half the non-Indigenous population. A similar pattern was also reported in New Zealand for their Maori population.

Asia
In Malaysia, building of the Bakun Dam resulted in 8,000 indigenous people being displaced from 15 communities by cutting about 80,000 hectares of rainforest. In Thailand, several Indigenous highland populations were moved out of national parks against their will. In Myanmar and the Philippines, the military tortured and killed several thousands of indigenous people.

In conclusion, the treatment of Indigenous people worldwide has drawn criticism from almost all sections of the population but the correction of the present situation need a radical reorientation of previous strategies that have been non existent or ineffective.

It was only in February 2008, the long awaited apology to the Stolen Generation was given and in March 2008 the Close the Gap coalition handed over the report and in November 2008, the Government announced $1.6 billion package to improve the health of Indigenous people; the biggest ever injection of new funding for Indigenous Health.