Y_NT4_Lesson-11_Expert

Australia has one of the best medical systems in the world. However, not all Australians are healthy. In a study about Australians’ health, statistics show that Aboriginal Australians have more health problems than non-Aboriginal Australians.

The Europeans’ arrival in the 18th century was catastrophic. Many Aboriginal Australians died because they didn’t have immunity against diseases brought by the Europeans. The Europeans also took away some of their lands, so most of them lived in poverty. Until now, the Aboriginal population has difficulty adapting to modern life with high levels of unemployment and an average income of $280 a week less than the non-Aboriginal Australians. As a result, most of them have poor living conditions which lead to the spread of diseases. To improve the situation, the government made programs to train and provide jobs to Aboriginal Australians. In 2007, the Australian government began doing health checks for Aboriginal children with a condition that if the family would not send their children, they would lose their welfare payments from the government. However, they ended up not following it and protested against the condition. In 2008, they started a program in which nurses visit pregnant Aboriginal women regularly. The nurses gave expert advice and built a good relationship with their patients which helped Aboriginal Australians understand health care more.

Nowadays, Aboriginal Australians’ health and employment are slowly improving. In the future, their aim is to see themselves as equal members of their country’s society.