With the “Apology to Australia’s Indigenous People” speech on 13 February, the Prime Minister challenged all Australians, but particularly those involved in service delivery to Indigenous people, to close the gap between the level of health, educational and living standards experienced by Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

That there is a gap is widely recognised. The most widely quoted (and perhaps easily understandable gap) is the 17-year gap in life expectancy of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, which in the Territory is driven mainly by preventable, chronic disease. However there is also a clear gap between the rates at which Indigenous and non-Indigenous people suffer from communicable diseases.

This article can be found on p.3 of the NT Disease Control Bulletin