Joint Media Release

Returned & Services League of Australia
Australian Veterans’& Defence Service Council
Vietnam Veterans’ Association of Australia

Released Monday 19 October 1998, in conjunction with Ministerial Press Release

The heads of the RSL, Australian Veterans’ & Defence Service Council, and the Vietnam Veterans’ Association of Australia today issued a joint statement urging Vietnam veterans to support the validation of the Vietnam Veterans’ Health Study.

"Vietnam veterans gave their full support to the study itself, and we encourage them to give the same response to the validation, which will involve about 7,000 veterans. Without the validation, we will be unable to address many of the key findings."

Major General Peter Phillips, Rear Admiral Guy Griffiths and Mr Clive Mitchell-Taylor have kept a close eye on the progress of the study, and are represented on the steering committee. They said that the study has the support of all Australian ex-service organisations, and that United States and New Zealand veterans are also awaiting the final results.

The Health Study indicated that Vietnam veterans, their spouses and their children suffer from a wide range of serious medical problems. The validation is a confirmation of the self-reported study for a small number of conditions that are of particular concern.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare is carrying out the study, ensuring that the information remains confidential. Personal information will be removed, and the aggregated results passed to the Department of Veterans’ Affairs to provide the basis for future health-related programs conducted by the DVA and ex-service organisations.

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