Senators Hear Views About Swine Flu On Reserves

Senators Hear Views About Swine Flu On Reserves

Wednesday, June 24, 2009 at 14:02

A senior public health advisor with the Assembly of First Nations says that the government is just lucky that the H1N1 flu outbreak has been mild so far.

Yesterday, Dr. Kim Barker told a group of Canadian senators, who are looking at the so-called swine flu’s impact on First Nations, that the AFN is very worried about the World Health Organization’s prediction that the H1N1 virus could show up again this fall, in a more severe form.

Barker said an inter-agency approach to H1N1, tailored to meet the needs of Aboriginal people, is needed to prevent the “devastation” of First Nations, who are already vulnerable because of poor living conditions on many reserves.

The AFN fears that if there is no improvement in the planning done for H1N1, or in the services provided by the various levels of government, “any increase in the virulence of this virus could have a tragic impact on First Nation communities.”

However, Health Canada’s assistant deputy minister for the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch defends her department’s actions.

Anne-Marie Robinson told the committee that FNIHB has worked closely with First Nations chiefs, the affected provinces and INAC, to provide information, trained medical personnel, and stockpiles of anti-viral medicines and protective masks.

Robinson says any increased demand on the health care system — on-reserve or off — stretches everyone’s resources, but to date they have been able to provide the care that is required.