Over 600 programs for Aboriginal Canadians with diabetes at risk of being shut, renewed federal funding needed

The federal government must renew funding for the Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative (ADI) in next week's budget or more than 600 programs for Aboriginal Canadians living with diabetes are at risk of being shut down, according to the Canadian Diabetes Association and the National Aboriginal Diabetes Association (NADA).

"The federal government has made a commitment to Canada's Aboriginal People living with diabetes, and they must not waiver in this commitment," said Ellen Malcolmson, President and CEO, Canadian Diabetes Association. "The funding for the ADI sunsets at the end of March, and without this funding many of these community programs will simply not have the resources they need to continue operating."

The spread of diabetes has reached epidemic proportions in Canada's Aboriginal communities. The statistics are sobering:

- 20 per cent of the Aboriginal population lives with diabetes; - Across Canada, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes is 3 to 5 times higher in Aboriginal communities; and, - Aboriginal People living with diabetes have higher rates of heart disease, kidney disease, blindness, amputations and infectious disease.

"Aboriginal Canadians simply do not have the same kind of easy access to physicians, specialists and hospitals that most other Canadians do," said Dina Bruyere, Executive Director, National Aboriginal Diabetes Association. "ADI provides support to those living with diabetes that they simply can not get anywhere else. Failure to properly fund diabetes initiatives will lead to dire consequences for the health of Aboriginal Canadians living with diabetes."

Recent studies presented at the World Diabetes Congress held in Montreal show the critical need for diabetes programs on reserves in Canada. The reports show that Aboriginal Canadians face a disproportionate burden of type 2 diabetes and an alarming rate of its serious complications , including kidney disease, nerve damage, vision loss, and amputations - all at higher rates than the general Canadian population. Equally alarming is the increasing rates of diabetes among Aboriginal women of child-bearing age which now approaching 20 per cent.

"The ADI is a critical component of the fight against diabetes in Canada, and any commitment to fighting this disease starts with support for the ADI," said Ms. Malcolmson.