Good afternoon, everyone.
Madam Chair, members of the committee, it's once again my pleasure to be here to talk about our response to the H1N1 flu virus, in particular our efforts to support and assist on-reserve first nations communities.
With me today are Dr. David Butler-Jones, our chief public health officer, and Shelagh Jane Woods, director general of primary health care and public health for Health Canada's First Nations and Inuit Health Branch.
I would also like to introduce Dr. Paul Gully, who has joined Health Canada as a special medical adviser. He will help coordinate the provisions of emergency health services in first nations communities affected by the H1N1 virus. Dr. Gully is joining us following his assignment at the World Health Organization as the deputy UN system influenza coordinator. He has also worked with Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada in the past.
During our time together, I'll turn to them for information in answering your questions as fully as possible.
In my remarks today, I want to talk about how we've been managing the H1N1 virus for almost five months. In particular, I will delve into why focusing on first nations communities is important in preparing for the fall, how we're collaborating with the provinces and first nations leaders in helping communities get prepared, and what we're planning to do going forward to strengthen our response and raise awareness in protecting the health of our communities.
Understanding the virus, how it's spread, and who is most vulnerable to it has been our priority. We immediately saw the need to implement our national pandemic influenza plan. Since then, we have followed the guidelines of the plan, and it has served us well. For that reason, we must stay the course and see it through as we prepare for a possible increase in the spread of the disease in the fall.
Communicating with Canadians has been and will continue to be an essential part of the plan. Collaborating with provinces, territories, first nations, Inuit, and health agencies across the country has enabled a clear and consistent approach to the disease nationwide. Health Canada is committed to working with stakeholders and domestic and international partners to help further our understanding and our methods of preventing and treating the H1N1 virus.
Next week, the Public Health Agency of Canada will host a conference that will be the first of its kind in Canada. Public health officials, intensive care specialists, and medical experts from Canada and other countries will meet in Winnipeg to discuss the best methods for treating and managing the severe cases of H1N1. We hope to develop new guidelines for treating and managing severe cases and new guidelines dealing with the impact they will have on hospitals.
Development of a vaccine is going according to plan. Clinical trials should start in October, if not earlier. As you know, we will make more than 50 million doses of the vaccine available so that every Canadian who needs and wants it can be immunized. Vaccination is key to managing the disease. I hardly need remind you that prevention of the disease is our primary goal.
I would like to turn my attention now to the work we've been doing with first nations. It is important to note that there are different health care delivery models for different aboriginal Canadians. I am focusing today on on-reserve first nations because the provision of health services is a shared responsibility between federal and provincial governments. Territorial and provincial governments have primary responsibility for health care for Inuit, but the Inuit remain a priority of Health Canada as well. In fact, I met with 25 mayors in Nunavut on Wednesday.
There are demographic and social factors that make on-reserve first nations and northern and remote communities a priority as we prepare for the fall. While Inuit are also a priority for Health Canada and are supported by Health Canada's regional offices, I will focus on first nations today.
Our research has shown that some segments of society appear to be at greater risk of developing complications if they contract the virus. We know, for example, that younger people age 16 to 25, pregnant women, and individuals with underlying health conditions, such as diabetes, fall into this category.
Many of you already know that 50% of the people on reserve are younger than 25. In fact, the median age of the first nations population as well as Inuit is 25, as compared with 40 in the rest of Canada. In addition, the birth rate on reserves is three times higher than in the rest of the country, which means there are more pregnant women per capita in first nations communities.
Finally, there are higher rates of chronic disease within first nations communities.
All told, a higher percentage of the first nations population is at greater risk of developing a more serious case of H1N1 than in the rest of the population. On top of this, we know well that social conditions, including overcrowding and communities having limited access to water for handwashing, pose challenges in minimizing the spread and impact of any virus.
For all these reasons, we're putting greater priority on preparing for a possible stronger wave in the fall by ensuring that care is well coordinated for communities when they need it, that needed supplies are both available and accessible, and that communities are well prepared and well informed.
When it comes to providing care to first nations communities, ensuring effective collaboration between levels of government is paramount. When someone from a remote first nations community needs to be transferred to a provincial hospital, Health Canada provides for the emergency medical transportation. This means that on-reserve first nations with severe H1N1 symptoms receive hospital care through their provincial health systems.
When there are many players involved, we need to make sure that our roles are clearly defined and our tasks well executed. I would like to mention that H1N1 preparations for first nations communities will be on the agenda for discussions with my provincial and territorial counterparts at our meeting on September 17.
Health Canada officials from our regional offices have been strengthening working relationships with provincial counterparts. In Manitoba, for example, First Nations and Inuit Health attend regular tripartite meetings with the province and Manitoba first nations. These networks have proven to be effective, particularly at the height of the outbreak in Manitoba earlier this year.
In British Columbia, first nations are well positioned to deal with an H1N1 outbreak through their collaborations with the tripartite H1N1 partners group. Other members include Health Canada, provincial health officials, including the office of provincial health offices, and the British Columbia aboriginal health physicians adviser. Similar activities have taken place across the country.
In addition to our communication with provinces, our officials have also been working directly with first nations leaders, as they always do. In July, officials from the health portfolio were on hand to both provide presentations and answer some questions before the Assembly of First Nations annual general meeting, held in Calgary. On a regular basis, Health Canada's regional offices distribute information bulletins and hold teleconferences with first nations community leaders. On top of this, we also provide financial and technical support to communities for preparing their pandemic plans.
I should note that since his election in July, I've had a chance to speak with AFN National Chief Atleo, and H1N1 was central to our discussions. I should also add that I had a meeting with him again this morning. I'll also be meeting with British Columbia chiefs in the next two days.
We do have a national plan, the Canadian pandemic influenza plan, but we need pandemic plans at all levels in all sectors. In other words, a one-size-fits-all approach does not work for a country like ours. For first nations, the Canadian pandemic influenza plan includes annex B, which defines the roles and responsibilities of all partners in pandemic planning for on-reserve first nations, including federal and provincial governments and first nations communities themselves.
We also have plans that meet the needs of individual first nations communities, plans inspired by the principles of national and provincial plans but developed by community leaders. The community plans map out in greater detail how a particular community will respond in case of an outbreak. To date, more than 90% of the first nations communities in Canada have completed and tested their plans.
Health Canada officials in each region have been contacting and visiting communities in recent weeks to determine if any additional plans are needed. We know that many first nations have not only completed but also tested their community pandemic plans. I was in Saskatchewan last week and noted that practically every first nations community in that province had tested its plan. Those communities and many others across Canada have put a lot of effort into their preparations.
We are also committed to ensuring that first nations nursing stations are equipped with all the supplies they will need to treat patients affected by H1N1 virus. We have distributed antivirals in advance to nursing stations in remote communities and regional medical storage facilities so that they can be accessed quickly.
Of course, during a pandemic our most important resource is our hard-working front-line medical worker. If the H1N1 virus reaches its potential, there will be an unprecedented demand for nurses. Because Health Canada depends on nurses to provide the bulk of its services in remote communities, we need to be ready to respond to the communities where the need is greatest.
Earlier this summer, in response to the elevated situation in northern Manitoba, we reallocated our nursing staff among nursing stations to meet the urgent need. We will be ready to take similar approaches this fall.
In preparing for the fall, we're providing additional training to workers to respond to emerging needs. For example, we're making sure that the nearly 400 home care nurses on reserves are trained to administer vaccines. As you are already aware, we are also collaborating with other jurisdictions to provide supplies, training, and guidance to first nations communities.
All of these preparations should convey the fact that our top priority is to gear up for the possible stronger second wave of H1N1 during the upcoming flu season. This is the kind of outbreak that members of our health portfolio have been preparing for since SARS in 2003.
During those years of preparation, it became clear that public awareness and education would be a key component of our strategy. That's why we're now in the midst of placing public service announcements in aboriginal print publications. It's also why we've been providing information to band councils, chiefs, and Inuit organizations. It's why we're planning to run community radio ads with calls to action translated into 26 aboriginal languages and dialects, along with TV ads on aboriginal networks and community stations.
In addition, we're providing information specifically geared to first nations on fightflu.ca, and we've been launching a social media campaign to ensure that our reach is as broad and deep as possible. As our ad campaign reads, knowledge is your best defence.
Through our communications effort, we're seeking to ensure that first nations community residents have all the information they need. I look forward to continue working with the community leaders, many of whom are here today, on how to best support and strengthen preparedness for the fall. We know that we have to remain vigilant.
I look forward to receiving your questions this afternoon. Thank you very much.
