Hundreds of Indigenous health workers to be trained under capacity-building process, key in Closing the Gap

One of the few worthwhile policy outcomes from the Morrison years was the “refresh” of the Closing the Gap process, which placed a heavy emphasis on co-design and co-delivery of Indigenous programs with communities.

That first part was a no-brainer given the history of Indigenous programs and the clear evidence that success depended heavily on Indigenous communities not merely designing programs but delivering them as well. But the Morrison government in 2020 began the process of ensuring that could happen, by funding capacity building within Indigenous bodies to participate fully and effectively in policy processes.

On Friday the Albanese government announced funding for the other end of the capacity-building process, with 500 Indigenous health workers to be trained under a new program.

More Indigenous health workers is absolutely crucial to securing better health outcomes in communities. Without culturally appropriate care and Indigenous communities being able to access Indigenous doctors, nurses and allied health professionals, significantly poorer health outcomes arise.

The record of all governments on capacity building should be a key marker for real efforts to achieve Closing the Gap targets from the policy design level to on-the-ground delivery. It’s not headline-making stuff, but it’s the only way to turn around decades of policy failure.