Rio Tinto Child Health Partnership

Developed to deliver improvements in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child and maternal health through the delivery of three projects:

• modelling the WA Aboriginal Child Health Survey for the Northern Territory and Queensland
• national fetal alcohol syndrome prevention strategy
• enhancing Aboriginal workforce capacity.

This is a collaborative project involving the following partners:

• Rio Tinto
• Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation Foundation Limited
• Western Australian government
• Northern Territory government
• Queensland government
• Telethon Institute for Child Health Research

Our research
The five-year Rio Tinto Child Health Partnership concluded in 2007.  The Partnership has allowed strong relationships to be forged between researchers, Aboriginal communities, health services, government agencies and departments and corporate Australia.  The Partnership has generated significant benefits and outcomes including increased awareness of fetal alcohol syndrome, identification of the issues which inhibit Aboriginal health professionals, support for culturally-appropriate practices in primary health care and treatment services and increased skills of health and community workers in identifying and responding to risk factors during pregnancy.