By Emma Carolan, CRA Justice Research Officer
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs) have effectively tailored COVID-19 health promotion messages for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, ensuring that communities have been largely protected from the virus.
Effective social media campaigns by ACCHOs have included Indigenous communities' vernacular and languages, imagery, artwork and culturally specific messages which promote self-isolation and hygiene as a means of upholding kinship structures through taking care of family and community.
Some examples include the Nirrumbuk Environmental Health and Services and Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Services, who put together this video to explain the virus and promote prevention measures in a culturally accessible way. Apunipima Cape York Health Council used their Facebook Page to do the same.
A screenshot of one of the Apunipima Cape York Health Council’s community health messages shared on social media during the pandemic. IMAGE: Apunipima Cape York Health Council Facebook page.
ACCHOs sprang into action to protect their communities before government action was taken, with some Cape York communities in Far North Queensland and the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands in South Australia, closing their borders ahead of government advice. These Indigenous-led health initiatives have seen Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples fare much better than any other Indigenous nation globally, and also the wider Australian population. One hundred and forty-six cases of COVID-19 had been reported in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples as of 13 October 2020. While still upsetting, this number of cases is still six times lower than if the population was affected at the same rate as the rest of Australia, emphasising the effective response pf ACCHOs. As the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation states, these organisations are:
“Enduring examples of community initiated and controlled solutions to the deep-rooted social, political and economic conditions that prevail in many Aboriginal communities and need to be addressed along with the delivery of essential health care. In the contemporary context they represent the only truly effective and culturally valid mode of delivering effective and sustainable primary health care services to Aboriginal Peoples.”
It should also be noted that the government’s National COVID-19 Health and Research Advisory Committee’s report Testing and rapid response in Indigenous Australians noted “blind spots” in test and response systems within Indigenous communities, flagging areas that are of concern for ensuring that this remains a good news story. These included:
· ACCHOs not being notified about their patient's test results.
· Ongoing inadequacies in the number of GP respiratory clinics and drive-through testing options specific for Indigenous peoples.
· The misperception that the majority of Australia's Indigenous peoples live in remote communities, causing the 79% in urban areas to be overlooked.
The government has started to respond to these blind spots, with the 2020-21 Federal Budget allocating an additional $975.5 million in 2020–21 to ACCHOs. This has funded the opening of more ACCHO GP-led Respiratory Clinics, bringing the total to 23, and allowed for them to remain operational until 31 March 2021, catering for respiratory disease management in patients whose symptoms that are not severe enough to attend a hospital.
The government’s April funding for a COVID-19 Remote Point of Care Testing Program for remote and rural Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, has now been fully rolled out, with 81 active testing sites in place for remote Indigenous communities. As of 13 October 2020, more than 4,700 tests had been performed, with 57 per cent of those tests belonging to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, demonstrating the effectiveness of site locations. The Budget’s funding has allowed these sites to remain operational until 31 March 2021.
An Urban Guidance Working Group has been established and are currently developing a national guidance document for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in both urban and regional settings. This blind spot is especially important to address as 75 per cent of the reported COVID-19 cases amongst Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, has been reported from major cities.
As the COVID-19 Pandemic response has illustrated, it is vital that the government continue to support the work of ACCHOs.
Read another article from Emma, ‘The Increased Risk of COVID-19 to Indigenous Peoples’, by clicking here.