Sandra Eades,  AO FASSA FAHMS FTSE, is a Mineng Noongar woman. Professor Eades is an esteemed Aboriginal health leader. She is Deputy Dean Indigenous in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences and the Rowden White Chair in Indigenous Health Equity at the University of Melbourne in Australia.

Amidst a turbulent history, marked by the arrival of the English in the late 1700s, Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people faced annihilation as introduced diseases and massacres decimated the population to less than 100,000 individuals. Despite this dark past, Aboriginal people today, now number almost 1 million. However, recent disappointment arose from the failure of a 2023 referendum vote to amend the Australian constitution to recognise First Nations people and also establish an Indigenous Voice to Parliament. With one modern treaty and several other regional treaties being negotiated the health of Aboriginal youth emerges as a crucial barometer of intergenerational well-being for both individuals and communities. Globally, indigenous people are promoting culture as the pathway to future health. What does this mean for Australia and how can it be integrated into existing health care frameworks to respond to the needs of Aboriginal youth, their families and communities.

This is a Better Together Dialogue sponsored by the HMS Office of Diversity Inclusion and Community Partnershp.