HEADLINE (Canada): Fighting poverty, helping children at risk key to public heath care

[Bluebear]

How civilized. How collaborative! I would say it is inspiring but I am depressingly certain that no American government entity would realize that 'good, nutritious food is expensive' and as a result, raise the minimum wage. O Canada.



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Many of the problems that traditionally fall in the domain of public health have clear solutions, such as vaccinating people against diseases. But as people in the field turn their attention to more fundamental problems, such as the roots of the poverty that puts many people at risk of poor health, they’ll need to collaborate to find more complex solutions, a renowned thinker and author said in Halifax on Wednesday....

Dr. Strang said the agency works as a system that transcends the traditional divisions of government departments and district health authorities. "You have communities in the centre," he said. "And how do we organize around those communities to be most efficient and effective in addressing their health needs?"

A good example was the department’s involvement in the creation of a child and youth strategy for the province, he said. This was part of the response to the Nunn inquiry, held after the death of Halifax teaching assistant Theresa McEvoy three years ago in a crash involving a young offender in a stolen car.

Dr. Strang said the strategy aims to support children before they head in the wrong direction. "How do we take prevention all the way back to early childhood and look at the total population of children and families and not just the ones who ultimately and up in trouble at age 10 in the youth justice system?" he said. "That’s been a fundamental shift in thinking across government."

The department’s focus on food security — trying to ensure all people have access to good and affordable food — is also having success, he said. Work sponsored by the department found a nutritious diet is not affordable to Nova Scotians on social assistance. That finding was a factor behind the recent minimum wage increase, Dr. Strang said. The provincial health eating strategy also seeks to make sure that students can get good, affordable food in schools and hospitals in the province offer nutritious food at reasonable prices. The province is also working with local farmers and growers in an effort to have food produced in a sustainable way, Dr. Strang said.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Metro/1060293.html