Our Story
EON Aboriginal Foundation was established in 2005 in response to the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research’s large-scale investigation into Aboriginal Child Health in WA. This landmark study highlighted the extremely poor health conditions faced by Aboriginal children, particularly those living in remote communities.
It was evident that larger established programs in operation were not making a sufficient impact on the devastating health statistics.
EON’s Founders were inspired to adopt a fresh approach- one that was practical, ‘grass-roots’ and community-based.
Starting with just one pilot garden at Christ the King Catholic School at Djarindjin Lombadina in the West Kimberley of WA, within just a few months of EON’s arrival the local children were eating fresh corn, tomatoes and lettuce harvested from the garden they had helped build.
Since then we have grown exponentially, with the program now having been delivered to over 40 communities across Western Australia and the Northern Territory, engaging and educating thousands of children and their families about the vital link between nutrition and health.
Why We Do What We Do
- First Nations children across Northern Australia experience one of the highest rates of type 2 diabetes in the world.1
- First Nations people living in remote areas have rates of kidney failure that are up to 20 times higher than those of comparable non-Indigenous peoples.2
- Around 14% of First Nations children under five in the Northern Territory experience chronic malnutrition, leading to developmental delays and ongoing risks of illness and premature death.3
- Up to 60% of Indigenous children in remote communities are affected by anaemia, associated with nutritional deficiencies.4
- Poor nutrition contributes to Aboriginal children having the worst ear health of any people in the world, with 3 out of 5 children in remote communities being diagnosed with at least 1 ear condition.5
Heart Disease
Type 2 Diabetes
Kidney Disease
are nutrition related.
Five of the seven leading factors contributing to the health gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians (obesity, high blood cholesterol, alcohol, high blood pressure, low fruit and vegetable intake) relate to poor diet.6
“We love learning to cook tasty, healthy food - grown by us!”
Citations:
(1) Angela Titmuss et al., “Youth-onset type 2 diabetes among First Nations young people in northern Australia: a retrospective, cross-sectional study,” The Lancet: Diabetes & Endocrinology 10, no. 1 (2022): 11, https://www.thelancet.com/action/showPdf?pii=S2213-8587%2821%2900286-2.
(2) Kidney Health Australia, “First Nations Australians,” accessed December 16, 2023, https://kidney.org.au/health-professionals/health-professional-resources/hp-resources-first-nations-australians.
(3) Department of Health, Healthy Under 5 Kids Program Growth and Nutrition Report: NT Annual Report 2018 (Northern Territory Government, 2018), 6, https://digitallibrary.health.nt.gov.au/prodjspui/bitstream/10137/7522/1/2018%20Health%20Under%205%20Kids%20Annual%20Report.pdf.
(4) Leonard D, et al. Early Childhood anaemia more than double the risk of developmental vulnerability at school-age among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children of remote Far North Queensland. Nutrition & Dietetics. 2020;77:298-309
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1747-0080.12602
(5) (WHO 2004) + Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2020. Indigenous hearing health. Canberra: AIHW. Viewed 03 September 2020, https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-health/indigenous-hearing-health
(6) Lee A, Ride K (2018) Review of nutrition among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Australian Indigenous HealthBulletin 18(1)
http://healthbulletin.org.au/articles/review-of-nutrition-among-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-people/