Our focus on food and water security in Walgett is ongoing for the Yuwaya Ngarra-li partnership, in line with the priorities of the Dharriwaa Elders Group. It was gratifying to see the support for these efforts recognised when a team made up of staff from the DEG, Walgett Aboriginal Medical Service, UNSW and The George Institute for Global Health were successful in gaining an NHMRC (National Health and Medical Research) Ideas grant to develop and evaluate community-led solutions to strengthen food and water security.
While much progress has been made remotely, it has been fantastic for Yuwaya Ngarra-li collaborators from the George Institute for Global Health and UNSW to be able to join team of researchers in Walgett to survey the community to learn more about food insecurity for Aboriginal people living in Walgett.
Professor Jacqui Webster at TGI is a long time and trusted collaborator in the Yuwaya Ngarra-li partnership, and like many members of her research team, was really keen to get back to Walgett after a long break to work directly WAMS and the DEG on this project.
The research team surveyed hundreds of community members, and have now begun the process of analysing the data collected with an agreement to return to Walgett in May to present their findings to WAMS and the DEG.