Wellington Aboriginal Corporation Health Service (WACHS) is participating in the Australian Government’s programme to help control tobacco use among Indigenous Australians and reduce smoking rates.
The Minister for Rural Health, Fiona Nash and Federal Member for Parkes, Mark Coulton have announced that WACHS has been successful in the recent regional tobacco control grant round as part of the Government’s re-designed Tackling Indigenous Smoking Programme.
“The Australian Government is committed to reducing smoking rates and preventing people from taking up the habit in the first place, including in Indigenous communities,” Minister Nash said.
“Tobacco smoking accounts for the deaths of one-in-five Indigenous Australians, and is the most preventable cause of ill-health and early deaths among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
“Smoking rates for Indigenous Australians have dropped since 2002, with the largest decline occurring among those aged 15-17 years. The Government’s range of initiatives will accelerate this positive trend.”
Mr Coulton said under the programme, a total of 36 organisations nationally will receive a share of the $81.2 million in new regional tobacco control grants.
“Well-known Indigenous organisation Ninti One will manage the newly-formed National Best Practice Unit, working directly with the grant recipients, including WACHS, on evidence-based approaches to tobacco control in their local regions,” Mr Coulton said.
Minister Nash said this work will also be supplemented by an independent evaluation which has been commissioned from the Cultural and Indigenous Research Centre Australia (CIRCA) to understand what works on the ground.
For further information on the Tackling Indigenous Smoking Programme please visit http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/indigenous-tis-lp