Thunder Bay, ON – Today is World Health Day (April 7). The World Health Organization (WHO) theme for this year is Health for All: looking back on 75 years of improvement to public health systems.
As the largest and oldest Indigenous women's organization in Canada, the Ontario Native Women’s Association (ONWA) has over 50 years of experience and expertise in amplifying Indigenous women's voices. ONWA will continue to advocate for equity for all – equal access and treatment of Indigenous people across all health systems. We know that individual and community wellbeing is at its best when we are balanced in all four directions of the medicine wheel; in our body, mind, spirt and heart.
This year, ONWA celebrates 52 years as part of the Indigenous women’s movement and will continue to work with communities to build specific programming. ONWA’s programming embraces Indigenous perspectives on health and healing, incorporating the two-eyed seeing approach that blends western and traditional medicine in a way that is meaningful to each community member. ONWA encourages everyone to seek guidance from Knowledge Keepers and Elders in your community and attend regular medical and screening appointments.
In Canada, health disparities are overrepresented in our Indigenous communities. There are still many barriers that Indigenous women and their families face when accessing health care. ONWA calls on Indigenous women and their families to use their voices to lead safe health change in their communities.
Join Indigenous communities across Ontario as they honour their bodies through screening and prevention. Help amplify Indigenous women’s voices and encourage your family, friends, and co-workers to ask questions about their health, practice traditional ways of being, get active, and eat healthy in support of this year’s “Health for All” theme.
If you need assistance accessing healthcare options in your area:
Mindimooyenh Clinic
Call: 807-697-1753
Email: vaccine@onwa.ca
For more information and media inquiries, contact:
Andre Morriseau, Communications Manager, Ontario Native Women’s Association (ONWA)
Email: amorriseau@onwa.ca
-30-