Ministry of Health
Aboriginal Healthy Living
Aboriginal people continue to be challenged by longstanding inequalities in health when compared to other British Columbians. The Aboriginal Health Branch provides stewardship and expertise to help close the gap in health status.
The Branch provides an Aboriginal lens to strategic priorities, legislation, policy and program development and manages policy tables with a range of Aboriginal organizations. The branch also works with the health authorities to ensure that planning processes address the needs of Aboriginal peoples and their services are delivered in a culturally appropriate way.
In November 2005, the Province of British Columbia, the First Nations Leadership Council, and the Government of Canada signed a historic agreement entitled the Transformative Change Accord. The Transformative Change Accord affirmed each party’s commitment to close the gap between First Nations and other British Columbians in the areas of education, health, housing and economic opportunities over 10 years. This agreement was followed by the Transformative Change Accord: First Nations Health Plan in 2006, signed by the Province and First Nations Leadership Council; the agreement puts into action BC’s commitments under the Transformative Change Accord for closing the gaps in health. The Tripartite First Nations Health Plan (TFNHP) (PDF 563KB) was signed in 2007 committing the Federal Government to the bilateral Transformative Change Accord: First Nations Health Plan ensuring that First Nations are involved in decision-making regarding their health.
Staff of the Aboriginal Health Branch work closely with the health authorities, First Nations Leadership Council, First Nations Health Council, the federal government, and Aboriginal organizations to implement actions set out in the TFNHP. The brochure Tripartite First Nations Health Plan: A new path to improving the well-being of First Nations in BC (PDF 927 KB) provides an overview of the Plan. A full summary of the most recent advancements in the implementation of the TFNHP are summarized in the British Columbia Tripartite First Nations Health Plan Year in Review 2008-2009 (PDF 3.78 MB).
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