Health co-ordinated

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A new organization has been established to ensure Aboriginal people have a voice in the development and provision of their health services.

NAHO, the National Aboriginal Health Organization, was formed last year, growing out of the work of a joint steering committee of Health Canada and the country's five national Aboriginal organizations-the Assembly of First Nations, the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada, the Metis National Council, the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, and the Native Women's Association of Canada.

NAHO is funded through Health Canada, with the federal department committing $28.35 million to run the organization until March 31, 2004.

The organization is Aboriginal-designed and controlled. The NAHO board of directors is made up of two representatives appointed by each of the five national Aboriginal organizations, and five individuals elected from the general Aboriginal population.

"The organization came about as a result of, I think, a lot of hard work by leadership across the country for many, many years, in trying to look at how we address the needs of our people," said Dr. Judith Bartlett, NAHO chair.

The aim of NAHO is to improve the health of Aboriginal people in Canada through promotion of health issues affecting Aboriginal people, assisting and promoting research relating to Aboriginal health issues, encouraging Aboriginal people to get involved in delivering health and healing services, and recognizing and promoting traditional Aboriginal healing practices.

"I think we're there to try to make sure that Aboriginal people's priorities are clearly reflected, because I think there's always a danger that there's a loss of focus on that part," explained Richard Jock, NAHO executive director.

Although created last spring, the organization is still in its formative stages. With a board and executive director in place, the task of putting together a complete staff still lays ahead, including recruiting directors for three planned centres-a First Nations centre, a Metis centre, and an Inuit centre.

"NAHO is not a service delivery organization. We're really looking at health policy, the development of an overall agenda for research, of helping to facilitate the access of research dollars to communities," Bartlett said.