Every 24 hours, 620 Canadians are diagnosed with diabetes. In the same amount of time, 14 Canadians also experience lower limb amputations due to diabetic complications, and more than 20 Canadians die from diabetes-related causes.
It’s a disease that affects over 11 million Canadians and costs our health care system $30 billion a year. Thousands of Canadians die from diabetes-related causes every year, and tens of thousands more are disabled by it. Indigenous peoples are among the highest risk populations in Canada, while people with lower incomes and seniors are also at greater risk.
Even with the help over the past 100 years from insulin, Canada’s most celebrated medical discovery, this disease is still is slowly shutting down individuals’ bodies one part at a time.
Whether it is contributing to sight loss, a heart attack, stroke, or kidney failure, diabetes continues to take a toll.
Looking ahead, it’s a disease whose proliferation and impact are continuing to accelerate – diabetes or prediabetes currently affects 1 in 3 Canadians; young adults have a 1 in 2 chance of developing it in their lifetime.
We can’t wait 100 more years for another innovative breakthrough that could save lives; Canada needs to end diabetes now. We are calling on each Member of Parliament to support the implementation of a Diabetes 360° strategy beginning with funding in Budget 2021.
Despite every province and territory’s best efforts to manage the diabetes epidemic, Canada lacks a national plan to better prevent and treat diabetes. Nor do we have a mechanism to share best practices across the country.
The numbers outlined above on the impact of diabetes are startling, but there is hope. A $150 million investment will save $20 billion in healthcare costs and reduce over 770,000 new cases of diabetes in Canada. This small step will help save the lives of many Canadians and improve the lives of countless more.
The diabetes community, led by Diabetes Canada, proposes a national Diabetes 360° strategy for the federal government to implement in 2021. The strategy would aim to improve the prevention, screening, and treatment of diabetes, achieve better health for Canadians, save billions of dollars of health care costs, and strengthen our economy by creating a healthier workforce.
In a recent Ipsos survey, 86 per cent of Canadians, including Indigenous people (98 per cent) and BIPOC Canadians (91 per cent), are in support of a Diabetes 360° strategy – with 78 per cent of Canadians looking to Members of Parliament to implement a strategy in the next couple of years (36 per cent calling for it this year). This is in addition to the House of Commons’ Health and Finance Committees’ previous recommendations and support.
Without a comprehensive plan such as a Diabetes 360° strategy, we face a future where the healthcare and human costs of diabetes will continue to rise exponentially.
COVID-19 has only heightened the urgency to act. Adults with diabetes are more likely to experience serious symptoms and complications and require hospitalization, and about three times more likely to die, from COVID-19.
It’s no surprise, then, that nearly three-quarters of people with diabetes, when asked, said they are experiencing increased anxiety about their health, financial situation, and ability to manage their condition.
A bold, coordinated action to implement a Diabetes 360° strategy will benefit Canadians living with diabetes and those with many other chronic diseases. Canada has a legacy of supporting people with chronic disease through specific pan-Canadian strategies for cancer and mental illness. It’s time to step up on behalf of the millions of people in this country whose lives are burdened by diabetes. So, with this year marking the 100th anniversary of insulin discovery, let’s get to work on implementing a national strategy that ends diabetes this year.
For more information, visit https://www.diabetesstrategynow.ca/
