Half of Inuit travel 1,500 km for health care in Canada

OTTAWA, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- Over half of Inuit in Canada reported travelling 1,500 kilometers or more to access health care, Statistics Canada said Monday.

In a latest survey conducted by the national statistical agency, 51.8 of Inuit responded that they had to travel 1,500 kilometers or more for health care, and another 18.2 percent travelled 1,000 kilometers to less than 1,500 kilometers.

For some Indigenous people, extensive travel is necessary to access health care, and this can result in financial burdens, emotional stress, anxiety, and feelings of isolation, the agency said.

According to the agency, a total of 40 percent of Inuit, 18 percent of First Nations people living off reserve and 16 percent of Metis travelled outside their community to access health care services.

Over one-quarter of Indigenous people in the country have unmet health care needs. Among First Nations people living off reserve and Inuit, a commonly reported reason was health care services not being in their area or being too far away, according to Statistics Canada.