Closing the Gap Strategy: A Governmental Approach to Achieve Health Equality

Running head: PUBLIC HEALTH
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PART-A
Closing the Gap strategy
Closing the Gap strategy is a governmental approach which focuses to diminish the
health weaknesses amongst the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people associated with
their child mortality, life expectancy, educational attainment, employment outcomes and
access to primary childhood education. This initiative is taken by the Australian government
as a formal commitment that will aim to achieve the health equality in Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander people by 2025 (Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, 2019). This
program was developed after the call for response based on Close the Gap social justice
movement and Social justice report 2005. Since the year 2008, the Australian government
with the help of the general indigenous population have aimed to provide better employment,
health and education outcomes to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populace. This
strategy also aimed to eradicate the health gap amongst the non-indigenous and indigenous
populace for better life expectancy rate.
In December 2007, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) that includes of
state and territory, local governments and federal leaders, had committed towards “closing
the gap “in terms of life expectation among the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and
non-Aboriginal Australians. The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) had also
agreed to accomplish this goal in a specific timeframe and hence this strategy initiated by
COAG was later known as “Closing the Gap” strategy (Council of Australian Governments,
2019). The change in the well-being condition of Aboriginal and Strait Islander people will
be screened and managed by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG). The Council
of Australian Governments (COAG) has established definite targets that will screen the
enhancements in the wellbeing and health of Aboriginal and Strait Islander individuals. The

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targets established by The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) area as follows
(Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet, 2019):
 Close the Gap among the life expectation by the year 2031.
 Halve the child mortality gap by 2018
 Halve the numeracy, writing and reading gap by 2025
 Close the school attendance gap by 2018
 Halve the employment gap by 2018
The prime minister releases a closing the Gap report each year to the parliament which
exhibits the detail of the health progress achieved on the targets (Aboriginal and Strait
Islander people). Close the Gap Steering Commission, also issues report which details the
progress on two health-associated targets and therefore deliver recommendations for health
improvements of the targets to the Australian government. In 2005, the existing Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Professor Tom Calma, had issued the
social impartiality report that motivated the government of Australia to compel to attain
health equivalence among the aboriginal and strait islander population in next 25 years
(National Congress of Australia's First Peoples, 2019).
In 2018 December, COAG had committed to form an honest official relationship with the
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander to settle the “Closing the Gap Refresh” and deliver an
opportunity of implementing new agendas for enhanced ongoing engagement. A novel joint
council was created on “Closing the gap” on 27 March 2019 that marked the onset of a
historic step towards enhancing the relationships among the Australian government and
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population (Close The Gap, 2019).

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The possible impact of the creativity upon the social determinants of Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ health
Aboriginal and Strait Islander people are also known as the indigenous population
who are believed to descend from Australia and other surrounding islands before the
colonisation of British era (McNiven, 2017). The overall life expectancy of the aboriginal and
strait islander people vary extensively from the non-indigenous population due to their
disadvantage health outcome and poor socio-economic condition. Substantial differences
were observed in the morbidity, disability and mortality health experience of the aboriginal
populace as likened to the non-aboriginal population. The Aboriginal and Strait Islander
population experience 2.4 times more burden of disease (BoD) as likened to the non-
indigenous population, where 70% of the total disease burden was due to chronic condition in
2011 (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2019). 19% of the health gap among the aboriginal and
strait islander and non-aboriginal people were due to cardiovascular disease and 23% was due
to consumption of tobacco. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, the
health gap among the indigenous and non- indigenous population beings from the birth and is
persistent throughout their life. 19% of the overall disease burden result due to high mental
and substance abuse illness like depression, alcohol consumption and anxiety (Australian
Institute of Health and Welfare, 2019). Hence, it is established that the well-being condition
of the Aboriginal and Strait Islander population need a national approach that includes the
association of Australian government and the aboriginal population to reduce the increasing
health gap and burden of diseases.
Due to increasing life expectancy of the aboriginal people, the Australian government
is identifying different strategies of working with the aboriginal communities and leaders,
who will aim to assist the indigenous proprietorship and will empower true association with
the government. This association will help in recognizing the variety of culture and