Inuit Infant Mortality Rates

In the Calgary Herald we read

"Canada continues to have one of the highest infant mortality rates in the developed world, a trend that has held since the 1990s, according to a new study.

Canada recorded five deaths for every 1,000 live births in 2006, placing it 15th out of 17 peer countries, according to a report card of health indicators released by the Conference Board of Canada Monday."

While Canada is considered to rank poorly with five deaths for every 1,000 live births the infant mortality rate among Canadian Inuit is many times higher. In a report released by UNICEF Canada only last June the infant mortality rate in Nunavut was listed at 16 deaths for every 1,000 live births - rates that approach those of third world countries like Sri Lanka.

Infant mortality rates are more than a simple measure of infant death, they are another indicator of yet another disparity between Inuit and non-Inuit Canadians. Using the latest figures available to us we know that:

• between 2002 and 2006 the tuberculosis rate among Inuit was 90 times higher than the rate of other in Canadians born in Canada
• 33% of Inuit children suffer from chronic health conditions
• in 2001 only 45% of Inuit had seen a doctor in the last year, compared to 85% of non-Aboriginal children

We also know that the vast majority of Inuit communities have no resident doctor, that the nearest hospital is usually many hours away, and that travel to it is only possible by air.

The UNICEF Report titled "Aboriginal children's health: Leaving no child behind" is available on our website. I would encourage all Canadians to read it, and ask themselves, and their government, why, in a prosperous First World country like Canada, so many Inuit live with conditions that are more indicative of a developing nation?

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