The new boss of NSW's Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council, Associate Professor Boe Rambaldini will consult with colleagues and stakeholders before addressing target shortfalls identified in Wednesday's Closing The Gap report.
Two of the Federal Government program's key health targets for First Nations people are improving but not enough to meet its 2031 deadline.
Only four of the program's 19 targets are tracking as predicted, while another four have worsened since the last report from 2020 data, prompting stakeholders this week to demand the government give Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services more control in strategy and implementation concerning Closing The Gap targets.
AH&MRC is NSW's peak First Nations health body representing the state's 49 Community Controlled Health Organisations that provide comprehensive, holistic, and culturally safe primary health care to First Nations communities across NSW.
Associate Professor Boe Rambaldini, better known as Boe, has collaborated with more than 20 of the service organisations across NSW, as well as government departments, universities and professional associations.
Closing The Gap's first target was to improve life expectancy within a generation by 2031. Indigenous males born in 2015–2017 were expected to live to 71.6 years and females to 75.6 years, with the gap in life expectancy narrowing for males (from 11.4 years to 8.6 years) and females (from 9.6 years to 7.8 years).
The program's second target - to increase the proportion of First Nations babies with a healthy birthweight to 91 per cent by 2031 - had dropped from 89.5 per cent in 2019 to 89 per cent in the latest report, but still an increase from 2017's baseline rate of 88.8 per cent.
Boe, a First Nations Elder of the Bundjalung Nation on the north coast of NSW, has significant experience in the Indigenous health sector, as the director of the Poche Centre for Indigenous Health at the University of Sydney from 2017 to 2022 as well as an Associate Professor at Macquarie University and the co-lead at the Djurali Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research and Education Centre.
His current work at Macquarie University has strengthened his relationships and desire to improve the health of Aboriginal people across NSW, as has his work as chief investigator on several health-related grants, including ARDAC (Antecedents of Renal Disease in Aboriginal Children and young adults study) at Flinders University and improving care pathways in First Nations children.
AH&MRC board chair Professor Phil Naden expressed gratitude at Boe's appointment after a rigorous recruitment process.
"We look forward to working closely with Boe to further improve Aboriginal Health outcomes for our people across NSW," he said.
"Professor Rambaldini brings to the role a deep understanding of the complex issues surrounding Aboriginal health, with a strong focus on cultural governance, outcomes and research design."
Boe was made an Honorary Fellow of the University of Sydney last Decemeber for his tireless advocacy for improved health and wellbeing of First Nations people.
