Manitoba First Nations get $19 million to fight diabetes

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This article was published 19/09/2017 (3274 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Ottawa will pump $19 million over the next four years to combat the province’s soaring diabetes epidemic on First Nations under a new health care deal that will focus on foot care.

Health Canada approved the funding and the lead Manitoba agency, Nanaandawewigamig, the First Nations Health and Social Secretariat of Manitoba, announced it in Portage la Prairie Tuesday.

It is believed to be the first ever regional program designed for and delivered by Indigenous people in their own communities to stem rising rates of amputation, one of the most tragic complications of diabetes

“We recognized the need and we have been working on obtaining funding to support these services for nearly 20 years,” said Pimicikamak Chief Catherine Merrick, Nanaandawewigamig board chair, in a statement Tuesday.

The funding allows Manitoba First Nations to follow through with standing recommendations for care from Diabetes Canada, formerly known as the Canadian Diabetes Association.

The announcement was made at the Nanaandawewigamig annual general meeting on the Long Plains urban reserve in Portage la Prairie.

Rates of diabetes are three to five times higher for Indigenous Canadians compared to the general population. On some First Nations, 26 per cent of residents have been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.

In Manitoba, diabetes affects roughly one in five (18.9 per cent) First Nations people, compared to 4.5 per cent of the rest of the population. First Nations people are also 18 times more likely to have an diabetes related amputation.

Without strategic intervention, treating diabetes is expected to rise nearly 30 per cent to $639 million by 2020, according to figures released with the funding announcement.

With proper foot care, an estimated 85 per cent of amputations are thought to be preventable.

We are pleased that (Ottawa) is investing in a preventative approach which will support the the reduction of further complications. . .,” said Keewatin Tribal Council nursing officer Anita Crate, who co-chaired efforts to secure funding.

Noting that foot care is an insured service in British Columbia and Alberta but not in Manitoba, Crate urged the province to take a second look at the impact of diabetes on the rest of the province.

“The province of Manitoba should strongly consider this as an insured service for all Manitobans who have diabetes. It’s invest now or pay later with more costly services such as physician billing, surgical costs, hospitalizations, rehab services and so forth,” Crate warned.

Ottawa has funded diabetic foot care programs here in the past, but never more than a few hundred thousand dollars a year, funnelled through the University of Manitoba’s Northern Medical Unit, which Ottawa uses to supply fly-in doctors to the north.

With the announcement, Ottawa made the funding available for the first time through a First Nations-run agency. Nanaandawewigamig will work directly with Manitoba tribal councils to provide the services. First Nations that aren’t aligned with tribal councils will be provided with their own funding. There was no word on the date services would be rolled out.

The multimillion funding allows First Nations their first ever opportunity to collaborate meaningfully with the province to create a system of seamless diabetes and kidney health care on First Nations with limited access to doctors.

In 2016, health-care experts with the secretariat asked Ottawa for more than $19 million over four years for diabetes-related foot-care clinics in all of Manitoba’s 60-plus First Nations communities. This past summer, federal health-care officials and First Nations diabetes advocates met over two days to set up a plan to roll out services.

Until now, nine Manitoba First Nations had advanced programs in this specialized area, 21 others have basic services and the rest — 34 communities, mostly in the north — have no services.

alexandra.paul@freepress.mb.ca