Released 09/06/2016
Assistant Minister for Health Meegan Fitzharris today released the 2016 ACT Chief Health Officer’s Report Healthy Canberra, which marks the 20th anniversary of the report and offers a chance to reflect on the great progress that has been made towards a healthier Canberra.
Minister Fitzharris said this year’s report highlights how far the ACT has come on important health-related issues, such as smoking, immunisation, and the top causes of death in our community. It also identifies the areas that will continue to be a focus of improvement for the ACT Government.
“The Chief Health Officer’s Report offers a snapshot of health in the ACT. I’m pleased to say that the overall health status of Canberrans remains stable and that we are continuing to see improvements in many areas,” Minister Fitzharris said.
“Canberra is one of the most liveable cities in the world with good air quality, clean water, high rates of employment and access to excellent social, community and health services. As a result, our community is living longer than ever before with the highest average life expectancy in the nation of 83 years.
“The Healthy Canberra report shows that the ACT has the lowest smoking rates in Australia, and the proportion of secondary school students who have never smoked has almost doubled between 1996 and 2014. We can be extremely proud of these results that show as a community we are heeding the important health warnings about quitting or being smoke-free for a healthier life.
“Quit campaigns and legislative reforms including restrictions on e-cigarettes and a more streamlined process for declaring public places in the ACT smoke-free, are important parts of the government's work to encourage people not to smoke.
“I’m pleased to see the number of adults living at a healthy weight in the ACT has remained similar over the years, and the rate of growth in overweight or obese children remains stable. However there is more to do and the Healthy Weight Initiative will continue, with a focus this year on active travel for kids and partnering with the business sector.
“We can still do more to get our kids more active and to help them stay active, with the report showing 35 to 40 per cent of ACT children participating in active travel to school. So I was very pleased to announce in this year’s Budget $2 million to help get kids moving and encourage more active travel within our suburbs.
“This new funding will expand the Active Streets for Schools program over the next two years, provide a further roll out of the Ride or Walk to School program and create a dedicated Schools Transport Coordinator.
“The Report also shows the number of children who consume sugar-sweetened drinks has decreased over the last five years down to 30 per cent in 2014 from almost 50 per cent in 2007. As a mum to three young kids, I know it can to tough to monitor the amount of added sugar kids consume so I’m really pleased to see progress on this one.
“The Healthy Canberra report also shows excellent results in our vaccination rates, with 78 per cent of year 7 students receiving the full three doses of the vaccine for Human Papillomavirus (HPV) in 2014. This national vaccination program commenced in 2007 and substantially reduces the risk of cervical abnormalities.
“Over the 20 years of the Report, we have also seen our childhood vaccination rates rise from 85 per cent of children aged 12-14 months, to 93 per cent.”
While the Healthy Canberra report overall shows positive results for the ACT, it also outlines a number of areas that we need to focus on improving as a community.
“The ACT Government will continue to invest in our health system, promote healthy lifestyle choices, increase access to mental health services and expand existing health services and preventive programs here in the ACT to address these concerns.
“The ACT Government is also committed to ensuring our community remains one of the healthiest in the country and this week’s Budget continues to make record investments health with $1.6 billion over four years to meet continued growth and demand for services,” Minister Fitzharris said.
The ACT Chief Health Officer’s Report is a biennial publication that profiles the health and wellbeing of ACT residents, and provides an overview of how environmental and lifestyle factors influence our health. This year’s report uses data over the 2012-2014 periods.
The 2016 ACT Chief Health Officers Report focuses on four key areas Healthy City; Healthy Weight; Health Living; and Healthy People. The report is online at: www.health.act.gov.au/datapublications/reports/chief-health-officers-report-2016 This year’s reportis complemented by a new HealthStats ACT website, providing health statistics on a broad range of population health topics, which is accessible online at: www.health.act.gov.au/healthstats
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Meegan Fitzharris, MLA | Media Releases
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