On International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, we celebrate ‘Indigenous youth as agents of change for self-determination’.
The column this week also pays tribute to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers and Practitioners, and reports on the importance of Indigenous knowledges in addressing the climate crisis.
On the housing crisis, there is a petition to sign and submissions to make.
And Professor Brendan Crabb tweet-reports from a recent Indoor Air Roundtable hosted in Federal Parliament House.
The quotable?
Clean indoor air will future proof against environmental hazards (especially bushfire smoke, vehicle emissions and pollens) and reduce airborne infections (C0VID, flu, RSV, and future airborne pandemics), leading to health benefits, better educational outcomes and an uplift in productivity.”
Housing
The housing crisis is destroying peoples’ lives, with more than 122,000 people in Australia having no home on any given night.
This week, Homelessness Australia is calling for people to sign this petition urging the Prime Minister to ensure the 10-year National Housing and Homelessness Plan is ambitious enough to make a real difference.
Healthcare can never provide more than a Band-Aid approach when people do not have safe and secure housing.
Agents of change
August 9 marks the United Nations International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, which raises awareness and highlights the rights of the 476 million Indigenous people across 90 countries.
With a theme celebrating ‘Indigenous youth as agents of change for self-determination’, this could be a landmark year for Indigenous people and their health, according to an editorial in The Lancet.
The World Health Assembly passed an unprecedented resolution aimed at strengthening the health of Indigenous people in May this year.
As well as tasking the World Health Organization with developing a global plan of action by 2026, the resolution contains several ambitious obligations for member states to improve Indigenous health.
Read the article, ‘Indigenous youth must be at the forefront of climate diplomacy’
The authors write: “We call on Indigenous Peoples around the world to co-create a dialogue to develop sustainable partnerships and take active roles in the global discourse on climate resilience. We also call on decision makers and policymakers worldwide to involve Indigenous Peoples in local and global biodiversity conservation endeavours.
“Young members of Indigenous communities, in particular, serve crucial roles in bridging older and future generations, and are well placed to combine Indigenous Knowledge with modern technologies and practices.”
Healthcare heroes
The National Association of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers and Practitioners (NAATSIHWP) invited the health sector and all Australians to celebrate the National Day of Recognition for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers and Practitioners on 7 August.
Little voices, loud futures
Read more about the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day.
Watch the video.
Global health
Read: Chile’s Comprehensive Food Policy Offers Global Lesson in Tackling Unhealthy Foods
Read: Russia’s withdrawal from the Ukraine grain deal is weaponising hunger
Read: Covid-19: Hospital admissions rise in England amid fears of new variant and waning immunity
Read: One year on—the persistent plight of the 2022 floods on health in Pakistan
Read the article (paywalled) 
Public health
Media matters
A recurring theme…
#AusPol
Journal Watch
See the MJA Supplement, Building a rural and remote health workforce with place-based education 
Read the AJPH editorial 
See the edition
#CroakeyREAD – and listen
Listen to the podcast – it’s interesting and encouraging 
Events
Read the statement arising from the Social and Emotional Wellbeing Gathering
