Back Email Page

• What is Aboriginal ActNow BC?
  
• How does Aboriginal ActNow support the goals of the First Nations Health Plan?
  
• What are the Four Pillars?
  
• Why is there an Aboriginal-specific ActNow BC initiative?
  
• How do we work?
   
  

Aboriginal ActNow BC is an active living health promotion strategy that aims to help address risk factors and reduce the chances of developing a chronic disease, such as high blood pressure or diabetes.  This initiative forms the Aboriginal-specific component of the larger ActNow BC initiative, launched in 2005 to support healthy living and physical fitness among British Columbians as the province prepares to host the 2010 Olympics.

Aboriginal ActNow BC and the First Nations Health Plan

Although the health gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples in B.C. is closing in key areas such as life expectancy, a new report by the BC provincial health officer released July, 2009, finds that other indicators such as rates of chronic disease are continuing to increase. Diabetes, stroke, heart disease and hypertension conditions are worsening for Aboriginal people in BC as the population ages and grows. (View the report: Pathways to Health and Healing: 2nd Report on the Health and Well-being of Aboriginal People in British Columbia).

First Nations Health Plan 

More direct control by First Nations and aboriginal communities over their own health services is key to improved health. A groundbreaking agreement in B.C. involving the Government of BC, the federal government and the First Nations Leadership Council -- called the Transformative Change Accord: First Nations Health Plan -- is revolutionizing how First Nations health policy, programs and initiatives are developed in the province.  An unprecedented recognition and respect for the role of First Nations is leading to a new governance structure that will ensure First Nations participation in decisions relating to their health.  The 10-year plan identified 29 specific actions in 4 areas, with 7 key targets, to close the gap and improve the health of the First Nations population in B.C.  

• View news release on the launch of the First Nations Health Plan.

In health promotion, the Transformative Change Accord: First Nations Health Plan commits the Minister of State for ActNow BC to work with First Nations communities, the National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health, and health authorities on an ActNow BC program specifically focused on Aboriginal people.  The NCCAH is in its third year of implementing the initative.

• View news release on the Aboriginal ActNow BC announcement. 

The Four Pillars of Healthy Living

Aboriginal ActNow BC is designed to help close the health gap between Aboriginal peoples and other British Columbians, and buiilds on the four pillars of health: nutrition, tobacco cessation, healthy choices in pregnancy, and physical activity.  Each is a key risk factor contributing to the most common chronic diseases in children, youth, adults and Elders, including heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes. 

Aboriginal ActNow BC supports healthy choices relating to four pillars of health that target chronic disease:

Nutrition – Healthy eating plays an important role in the prevention and control of chronic diseases.  It is also a key determinant of human health and development throughout a person's life.

_______________

Healthy choices in pregnancy –  Making healthy choices in pregnancy can reduce chances of miscarriage, fetal and neonatal death, premature deliveries and sudden infant death syndrome.

Chronic diseases like cancer, heart disease and diabetes are among the most prevalent health issues in British Columbia -- and they are among the most preventable.

Chronic diseases are frequently the result, often over time, of health-compromising behaviours and risk factors. These factors include tobacco use, physical inactivity, unhealthy eating, obesity, alcohol misuse, and occupational risks. 

In 2005, the ActNow BC initiative was launched to address these risk factors and help all British Columbians lead the way in North America in healthy living and physical fitness.  BC aims, with the support of ActNow BC programs, to become the healthiest jurisdiction ever to host an Olympic Games, set for Vancouver in 2010.  Read more here.

Aboriginal ActNow is specifically focused on Aboriginal peoples in BC, home to the second largest Aboriginal population in Canada. First Nations make up 66%,  Métis 30 per cent, and Inuit and others with multiple Aboriginal identity make up the remainder of the total 196,000 people. A young population, the numbers are also growing at more than three times the rate of BC's non-Aboriginal population. Click here for a fact sheet of demographic information. 

Yet there is a siginficant gap in the health status of Aboriginal peoples and the rest of the population.  In BC, the Provincial Health Officer found in his 2001 report The Health and Well-being of Aboriginal Peoples in British Columbia that:

• standards of living for Aboriginal people were 20 per cent below the provincial average;
  
  
• life expectancy rates for Status First Nations was seven years less than for other British Columbians;
  
  
• the diabetes rate for Status First Nations was 40 per cent higher than the general population, and
  
  
• 40 per cent of Aboriginal young people smoke, more than double the rate of other young people in B.C.

You can read more about Aboriginal health status and access the reports by the BC Provincial Health Officer by clicking here.   View the most recent report, released July 2009: Pathways to Health and Healing: 2nd Report on the Health and Well-being of Aboriginal People in British Columbia).  

Aboriginal ActNow BC is an important step that can help address the gap between the health status of Aboriginal people and that of the non-Aboriginal population. This gap reflects such historical experiences as residential school trauma, cultural alienation and colonization, as well as poverty, unemployment, inadequate housing, education and access to health services.

The BC government provided funds to the National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health to implement Aboriginal ActNow BC.  The NCCAH is funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada and has a mandate to support Aboriginal communities across Canada in realizing their health goals.

The NCCAH, located at the University of Northern British Columbia in Prince George, B.C.,  has established formal partnerships with the First Nations Health Council, Métis Nation BC, and the BC Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres to support ActNow BC goals in Aboriginal communities on and off reserve. THe NCCAH works closely with our partners:  

• First Nations Health Council - the advocacy voice of BC First Nations on health.  The Health Council is providing leadership in the internationally recognized Tripartite First Nations Health Plan ratified in 2007.  The plan includes 29 action items - including Aboriginal ActNow BC - to help close the health gap between Aboriginal peoples and other British Columbians.
  
  
• Métis Nation British Columbia  -- there are 37 Métis Chartered communities in B.C. and seven regional governenance councils. MNBC seeks to develop and enhance opportunities for Métis communities by implementing culturall relevant social and economic programs and services.  
  
  
• BC Association of Friendship Centres – aims to improve the quality of life for Aboriginal people in urban centres by supporting Friendship Centre activities across the province.  The BCAAFC consists of 24 member Friendship Centres that provide a base of social services to an average of 1200 Aboriginal people per day. More than 60 per cent of Status Indians in BC and 74 per cent of all Aboriginal people in BC live off-reserve, according to the 2006 Census.  Friendship Centres in BC have been providing services to their clientele for the past 50 years. 

• providing useful and relevant health knowledge in support of First Nations, Métis and Urban Aboriginal health initiatives. 
  
  
• determining what works in Aboriginal health so that learnings can be applied for the future.  
  
  
• collaborating in events, projects, workshops, conferences and strategic planning processes.