Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are three times more likely to die before their fifth birthday than non-indigenous children, a new report to be issued today has found.
The Newborn and Child Survival report, compiled by Save the Children Australia, has found the infant mortality rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander infants is 12.5 per 1000 live births compared with the non-indigenous rate of 4.3. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander infants are nine times more likely to die from respiratory conditions and four times more likely to die from injuries.
Indigenous mothers are twice as likely to give birth to a low birth weight baby as non-indigenous mothers.
This puts indigenous children on a par with disadvantaged children living in countries such as Cambodia, the Solomon Islands, and East Timor.
Save the Children Australia will launch today a community awareness campaign to highlight indigenous child mortality rates, urging the Rudd Government to reduce the rate by two-thirds within the next six years.
Chief executive Suzanne Dvorak said most Australians would simply not be aware of the terrible health outcomes for indigenous children or how much they lagged non-indigenous children.
''Successive Governments probably believe they have done something to address the problem, but with three times the number of indigenous children dying than non-indigenous children it is quite clear not enough work is being done.''
For more, pick up a copy of today's Canberra Times
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