PANGULA Mannamurna held its Close the Gap community event on Thursday with activities and information for all ages.
The Aboriginal health organisation’s chief executive, Andrew Birtwistle-Smith, said the day was a great opportunity to recognise the Close the Gap initiative and ensure it is ongoing.
“It is to acknowledge that it is ongoing and to make people accountable, but also to celebrate what we have achieved so far,” Mr Birtwistle-Smith said.
“Even though some targets have not yet been met and those are some issues, there has been some progress and there are targets that have been met or can be improved.”
Pangula’s event was held to celebrate the achievements but also bring the wider community together.
“We had over 20 stalls for the day which is amazing and it shows Aboriginal companies are aware of these issues and what they need to do and what we need to do as a collective.”
Mr Birtwistle-Smith said the Pangula board would look at strategic directions for the organisation to guide it over the next three to five years.
“The board will also be looking at forecasts which will look even broader than what is already happening, especially in regards to the region within the next 10 years.
Health, chronic illness, smoking, mental illness and clinic services are all delivered by Pangula, with the facility looking to expand.
“It is critical that we recognise closing the gap and acknowledge and celebrate the successes within the region.
“It also has a long way to go and we cannot do that in isolation, we need all community and all service providers to come together and do it as a collective.”
National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation said the challenge of closing the gap has always centred around the lack of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices as well as input in the larger framework, policies and target.
