The National Aboriginal Health Organization (NAHO) was incorporated in March 2000 as the Organization for the Advancement of Aboriginal Peoples Health (OAAPH), in December 2000 the Board of Directors approved the name of the organization as the National Aboriginal Health Organization.
After 12 years of operation, NAHO closed on June 29, 2012. The closure was caused by all funding being cut to the organization by the federal government.
The National Aboriginal Health Organization was an organization which promoted of health and well-being of all First Nations, Inuit and Métis individuals, families and communities. Well-being and health was promoted by the NAHO through research, Indigenous Traditional Knowledge, capacity building, and community initiatives. NAHO was a national not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving the physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual health of Aboriginal people in Canada.
During its operation NAHO was the only national Aboriginal controlled organization in Canada that was set up with three population specific Centres dedicated to advance and promote the distinct needs of First Nations, Inuit and Métis populations through knowledge-based initiatives. These three Centres were: the First Nations Centre, the Inuit Tuttarvingat and the Métis Centre.
NAHO received core funding from Health Canada, however Health Canada exerted no influence over the content of NAHO materials. All materials published by NAHO were put through an established approvals process to ensure that the information presented is credible, timely and accurate.
NAHO was responsible for the publication of the Journal of Aboriginal Health once a year – the only journal of its kind in the world. Additionally, NAHO estimated that it had between 2,000 and 3,000 health documents on its site.
