The RACP is a founding member of the Close the Gap Campaign for Indigenous health equality, a campaign by peak Indigenous and non-Indigenous health bodies to close the health and life expectancy gap by 2030.

The 2019 Close the Gap Report, Our Choices, Our Voices, will be launched today at Tharawal Aboriginal Corporation in South West Sydney—one of many National Close the Gap Day events around the country.

The Report will be launched by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner June Oscar AO, and Co-Chair of the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples Rod Little.

Commissioner Oscar said the Report highlights the need for genuine and meaningful engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

“We have a right to self-determination and full participation in decision-making about matters that affect us. We need to invest in and support on the ground voices and solutions. An investment in our community-controlled organisations is an investment in success,” Commissioner Oscar said.

RACP President Associate Professor Mark Lane said Indigenous leadership and community-control are central.

“Without self-determination, it is not possible for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to fully overcome the legacy of colonisation and dispossession, and the ongoing impacts on health.

Professor Noel Hayman, Chair of the RACP Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Committee, said “to make real, long-term gains in Indigenous health, the health system needs to recognise the highly skilled leadership of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are best placed to mobilise action and build the platform for change.”

“The RACP’s focus is on improving access to medical specialists for Indigenous people, and we have great examples of where this is being done innovatively and effectively,” Professor Hayman said.

To download the 2019 Close the Gap Report, Our Choices, Our Voices, please visit https://antar.org.au/reports/our-choices-our-voices

For further information on National Close the Gap Day please visit https://antar.org.au/campaigns/national-close-gap-day

For the RACP’s Medical Specialist Access Framework, please visit www.racp.edu.au/MSAF