OTTAWA—The government is promising to reduce active tuberculosis in the North by half within the next seven years, ahead of a broader goal to eliminate the disease by 2030.

The eradication plan is to be led by Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, which represents the 65,000 Inuit living in Canada, and will focus firstly on preventing deaths related to tuberculosis among children.

ITK President Natan Obed said Friday the prevalence of tuberculosis in Inuit Nunangat, which is the organization’s preferred term for traditional Inuit territory, is a legacy of the government’s historic indifference to Inuit health and well-being.

“Inuit leaders will hold Canada to account to ensure that tuberculosis, which is rooted in social inequity, is addressed completely and fully,” Obed said.

Tuberculosis is a preventable and curable bacterial infection that can be fatal if left untreated.

Government figures show that the incidence of tuberculosis among all Canadians in 2016 was 4.8 cases per 100,000 people, while for Inuit living anywhere Canada it was slightly more than 170 cases per 100,000 people.

For Inuit living in the North, the incidence of tuberculosis is 300 times higher than among Canadian-born, non-Indigenous people, the government says.

Indigenous Services Minister Jane Philpott described that disparity as outrageous, but also “eminently solvable,” given available medical technology.

“It’s difficult, but it’s not rocket science,” Philpott said. “It should never have taken us so long to get to this day.”

Read more:

Opinion | Canada has an opportunity to lead the G7 on global health equity

Opinion | Infectious diseases are poised for a deadly comeback

New federal ministry aims to improve quality of life for Indigenous people in Canada

The higher infection rates among Inuit in the North are in part attributed to a legacy of forced relocation of Inuit into crowded, substandard housing, in which the airborne disease was much more easily passed from person to person, said Obed.

Historically, Inuit people diagnosed with tuberculosis would be taken to a sanatorium far from home and sometimes were never able to return to their community, he added.

A stigma has since grown around the disease and around the health system that purports to fight it, which has contributed to the problem in Inuit Nunangat, Obed said.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Newfoundland and Labrador’s health department announced this week that a teenage boy had died over the weekend from what was believed to be tuberculosis.

He was being treated at the time for the disease, though a confirmed cause of death has not been released.

The government’s most recent budget committed $27.5 million over five years to eliminating tuberculosis in Inuit Nunangat, which includes funding for prevention, screening, diagnosis and treatment.