Researchers into fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) have welcomed the Federal Government’s announcement of a ten-year national action plan that will drive efforts to reduce the impact of FASD on individuals, families and communities.
The national strategy builds on existing efforts and comes with a commitment of $7.2 million to fund priority areas including prevention, screening and diagnosis, support and management, informing schools and workplaces, supporting the justice and policing sectors, and tailoring needs to communities.
Federal Minister for Health Greg Hunt and Minister for Indigenous Health Ken Wyatt made the announcement today at the 2nd Australasian FASD Conference 2018, being held over two days in Perth.
More than 350 delegates from around Australia, New Zealand and Canada are attending the conference, hosted by the FASD Research Australia Centre of Excellence (CRE). The CRE has hubs at The Kids Research Institute Australia in Perth and the University of Sydney in New South Wales.
Professor Carol Bower, co-director of the CRE and leader of the Perth hub, said the Federal Government had been a strong advocate for FASD for some time and their renewed commitment was most welcome.
“This 10-year strategy – developed in consultation with parents and carers, health, education and justice professionals, service providers and support groups – provides an important framework for guiding national prevention, diagnosis, management and research of FASD for Australia,” Professor Bower said.
“Whilst there have been great leaps forward in FASD diagnosis, prevention and support in recent years in Australia – including the recent decision to develop and implement mandatory labelling of all packaged alcoholic drinks in Australia and New Zealand – there is still a long way to go.
“The government’s new action plan and funding will go some way to being able to continue our collective efforts.”
FASD Research Australia CRE co-director Professor Liz Elliott, who leads the Sydney hub, said Australia had pioneered a truly national approach to FASD and had some of the world’s leading researchers in the field.
“We are unique among other countries in that we now have a national register, a national clinical group, a national hub for research, and a national advocacy group in NoFASD,” she said. “This national approach is a real strength and means we are well primed to continue to address FASD in a very coordinated, collaborative way.”
Professor Elliott said the action plan would guide efforts to address FASD, but it would be important to evaluate new programs and monitor outcomes that were important for people living with FASD and their families.
“Important outcomes include decreasing the number of women drinking in pregnancy; ensuring that health professionals ask about alcohol use in pregnancy and give consistent advice regarding the harms as well as providing the treatment needed to help them stop drinking; and improving not just the rate of diagnosis but also how well people are able to access support and therapy.
“There are still complaints about access to diagnosis – we really do need to increase capacity among health professionals across the board, not just paediatricians, so they are in a position to think about this diagnosis and know how to address it.”
Professor Bower, who led a team of The Kids researchers who discovered that 36 per cent of young people in the Banksia Hill Youth Detention Centre have FASD, said another important outcome was ensuring young people who entered the justice system were properly assessed so people are aware of their capabilities.
ENDS