Senior Medical Officer, Kambu Health; Australia

Dr Marjad Page is a proud Kalkadoon, Waanyi and Ganggalidda and Christian man. He is the first traditional owner to practice medicine on Kalkadoon land.

Dr Page is Senior Medical Officer at Kambu Health in Ipswich, an Aboriginal-controlled health centre servicing First Nations communities in western Queensland. He was previously Chief Medical Officer with Gidgee Healing Service based at Mt Isa in rural Queensland.

He graduated from medicine as a Rural Generalist, and has advanced specialist skills in obstetrics and gynaecology and anaesthetics. He was recognised by the Rural Doctors Association of Queensland in 2017 with the inaugural Denis Lennox Rural Medicine Award. This year he was awarded Central Queensland University’s Outstanding Alumnus Award. Currently Dr Page is the face of a campaign to address COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among Aboriginal communities. The “Jibber Jabber” campaign encourages people to ignore the “Jibber”, defined as foolish or worthless talk, and instead talk to a “Jabber” – someone who administers a COVID vaccine jab.

Dr Page says getting the right healthcare to First Nations peoples requires cultural understanding, cultural safety, and an awareness of how we view racial and ethnic groups in Australia. It’s also about helping First Nations people to better understand health and medical processes.