Step Up and Close the Gap

Campaigners are urging all Australians to call for an end to health inequality by taking part in Close The  Gap Day on Thursday 19 March.
Close The Gap Campaign Co-Chair Kirstie Parker  said National Close the Gap Day is an occasion when Australians tell the nation’s leaders that they want progress on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health equality.
“Last year, more than 150,000 people took part in over one thousand separate National Close the Gap Day events across the country,” Ms Parker said.
“The reality is that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people can expect to live approximately 10 years less than non-Indigenous Australians. But there are practical steps we can take to change this.
“We need governments to work in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people because real and sustained engagement with our communities is one of the critical success factors.”
Mick Gooda, also co-chair of Close the Gap and Social Justice Commissioner at the Australian Human Rights Commission, said new research into the high level of undetected chronic conditions in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people demonstrates the significant impact chronic conditions have on life expectancy.
“We have a real opportunity to make relatively large health and life expectancy gains in relatively short periods of time if we detect and treat these chronic conditions.
“There is no room for complacency. Funding for anti-smoking initiatives must continue and we need to fund new initiatives that target chronic conditions such as diabetes, otherwise momentum will be lost,” Commissioner Gooda said.
National Close the Gap Day on 19 March includes events ranging from workplace morning teas, to sports days, school events and public events in hospitals and offices around the country. Anyone can take part and make a difference.
Find out how you can get involved here