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PrintAchievements of National Close the Gap Day 2009
This year’s National Close the Gap Day (NCTGD) has again demonstrated the tremendous community support that exists for achieving Indigenous health equality.
- 492 NCTGD events were held across all states and territories
- More than 20,000 Australians were involved on the day
- More than 130,000 Australians have now signed the Close the Gap pledge
Events ranged from large public gatherings in hospitals, universities, community centres and public spaces such as Federation Square, through to workplace gatherings in law firms, government offices and schools. Another 1000 people attended preview screenings of the new film Samson and Delilah by a young Aboriginal film maker Warwick Thornton.
What event participants say
"It was a wonderful day! I felt that it raised the awareness of not only 'Close the Gap’ but issues around the social determinants of Indigenous health."
"I prepared a cake with "Let's Close the Gap" written in icing on it for participants to eat and get into the spirit of the event after watching the Close the Gap DVD."
I did this because I knew my work friends didn’t even know about it. Now they do and I’m proud of it."
"We supplied black and white donuts and our Year 11 boys’ captain gave a short speech about the statistics and why it is so important to Close the Gap!"
Still work to do
Despite the significant progress the Close the Gap campaign has made over the past 12 months, Indigenous health equality is still far from assured. Even under the best circumstances it is likely to take at least 25 years to end the Indigenous health crisis.
Thank you to everyone who has been involved in the campaign so far and hope that you can continue your support. Only with your support will our elected leaders continue to allocate the resources, and work in partnership with Indigenous leaders to achieve health equality within a generation.
