Diabetes

Diabetes is a lifelong condition where your body does not produce enough insulin, or your body cannot properly use the insulin it produces. Your body needs insulin to change the sugar from food into energy. With diabetes, the sugar stays in your blood so that your blood sugar level gets too high. High blood sugar levels over long periods of time can cause complications such as damage to blood vessels and kidneys and difficulties with circulation.

There are three main types of diabetes:

• type 1, where the body makes little or no insulin;
• type 2, where the body makes insulin but cannot use it properly (nine out of ten people with diabetes have type 2); and
• gestational diabetes, where the body is not able to properly use insulin during pregnancy. This type of diabetes goes away after the baby is born.

Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative

Rates of diabetes among Aboriginal people in Canada are three to five times higher than those of the general Canadian population. Aboriginal children are also now being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, a condition that in the past occurred mainly in older persons. Inuit rates of diabetes are not as high as those of other Aboriginal populations; however, there is concern that the rates of type 2 diabetes are increasing among Inuit as well.

The Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative is designed to provide a more comprehensive, collaborative and integrated approach to decreasing diabetes and its complications among Aboriginal peoples. The program is overseen by a national steering committee with representation from the national Aboriginal representative organizations (Assembly of First Nations, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, Métis National Council, Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, Native Women's Association of Canada) as well as the National Aboriginal Diabetes Association. The program is divided into two components, each with a separate framework and funding formula.

First Nations On-reserve and Inuit in Inuit Communities Program (FNOIIC)

The FNOIIC program is administered through the regional offices in partnership with First Nations and Inuit in the region. Through the FNOIIC program, the ADI will ensure access to prevention and promotion, care and treatment, and lifestyle support programs for First Nations on-reserve and Inuit living in Inuit communities. For information on regional programming, contact the Regional Program Offices.

Métis, Off-reserve Aboriginal and Urban Inuit Prevention and Promotion Program

The Métis, Off-reserve Aboriginal and Urban Inuit Prevention and Promotion (MOAUIPP) Program provides funding for diabetes primary prevention and health promotion programs. The MOAUIPP program is intended to serve Métis, off-reserve Aboriginal and urban Inuit who will access diabetes primary prevention and health promotion programming, and want these programs to be culturally appropriate.

The ADI has been developed in partnership with Aboriginal people. Programs which emphasize holistic approaches and strive to be culturally appropriate are now in place across the country. Aboriginal people are involved in all stages of development, implementation and program maintenance.