Convention Abstract:

Building Safety, Security & Self-Sufficiency

in Our Native Communities

Over the past few years, in its annual conventions, in a series of National forums, and in the highly successful Alaska Marketplace, AFN has concentrated its efforts on different aspects of self-determination:  initiatives that promote access to and improve the quality of education and health care in our communities, initiatives that strengthen self-sufficiency and engender respect for our culture and way of life, and initiatives that support economic activity in rural Alaska -- based not only on the vast resources of Alaska’s land, but on the rich knowledge possessed by our people.  We propose to continue the theme of self-sufficiency as we, along with the state and the nation prepare for a possible influenza pandemic. In order to ensure our safety and security, we must prepare to meet this challenge at the local, regional and statewide levels.  This will include strengthening our public safety and health systems, arming our regional non-profits and villages with the knowledge and capacity to address the challenges inherent in a pandemic, and informing individuals, families and communities on how to prepare for and fight the flu pandemic.  We propose to focus this year’s Convention on “Building Safety, Security and Self-Sufficiency in our Native Communities.”

Background:  There are increasing indications that Asian H5NI (a Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza) is infecting and killing wild birds in Asia and Eastern Europe, including some migratory species.  These events, and the rapid spread of this virus to new regions, have created concerns that the flu virus could be carried to the United States by migratory birds.  A number of migratory birds move between Alaska and Asia, making Alaska Natives, who regularly hunt these birds for subsistence purposes, particularly vulnerable should the virus mutate and spread to humans. 

While we have an incredible Native health system, we need to ensure it receives the resources needed to address the possibility of a pandemic flu outbreak. The Community Health Aides and VPSOs in local communities will be on the front line in addressing the challenges we might face, particularly if the pandemic is severe.  We need to ensure that there are a sufficient number of community health aides and VPSOs to handle an outbreak and that they are equipped to respond quickly and effectively. A pandemic is different from seasonal outbreaks of influenza – it is a widespread outbreak of disease that occurs when a new flu virus appears that people have not been exposed to before.  A pandemic can come and go in waves, each lasting for months at a time.  An especially severe influenza pandemic could lead to high levels of illness, death, social disruption and economic loss.  For that reason we must begin to assess our capabilities in terms of health care and public safety, and to educate our people on what adequate preparedness means.  The VPSO program is under-funded and many of our villages do not have public safety officers.  We need Community Health Aides in every village.  The regional nonprofits and village governments will need additional resources since the impact of a pandemic could touch the lives of every individual and family in every community.    

This year’s Convention will focus on several key questions:  What systems can we put in place to detect outbreaks of influenza?  What has the State of Alaska and our local health providers and emergency preparedness officials done to provide funding, advice and other support to our communities and regional nonprofits to prepare for influenza pandemic?  Where can individuals and communities get reliable, accurate and timely information on steps that they can take to protect against pandemic influenza?  What can our communities’ public safety and health systems do to be better prepared to deal with the social and economic disruptions that could follow a pandemic influenza outbreak?

Keynote Speaker:  AFN proposes to invite Bill Gates to deliver the keynote address.  The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has devoted significant funding to the immunization of children, and supports the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, an innovative partnership that has helped save hundreds of thousands of lives by increasing the number of children who receive basic vaccines.  While the Foundation has yet to take on the avian flu issue, it has worked on the international level on preventing and treating infectious diseases.

Planning Partners:  We will be working with the Alaska Native Health Board, the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, and the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services to put together a panel of experts, including Dr. Richard Mandsager, Director of the Alaska Division of Public Health, as well as authorities from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, among others, to discuss the issue and to provide the clearest and most timely information on what a pandemic influenza outbreak can mean, how it can spread, and what can be done to mitigate the impact on our people.  We will put together several breakout sessions following the panel discussion, focused on:  (1) surveillance for Asian H5N1 in Alaska Birds; and (2) preparedness at the local and state level in the event of a pandemic influenza outbreak.