According to a leader of the campaign to 'Close the Gap' on native disadvantage, there has been a slight progress in the past few years.

The fourth annual national Close the Gap Day is around the corner in which about 30,000 people are expected to take part, which will focus on improving health outcomes for native people.

Campaign co-chairman Tom Calma acknowledges there have been funding boosts to Indigenous health in recent years, but says more is needed.

He said, "We're all starting to face in the right direction and starting to walk in the right direction. More and more people are understanding that it is unacceptable that in a developed country like Australia we have Third World health outcomes."

According to Close the Gap steering committee co-chair Mick Gooda people are not in favor of the government taking the foot off the pedal.

Calma added, "Babies born to indigenous mothers die at twice the rate of other babies, indigenous men suffer heart disease and stroke at three times the rate of other Australian men and indigenous women die from cervical cancer at a rate five times higher."

The life expectancy gap for men is 11.5 years and for women this gap is 9.7 years.