Province dedicates nearly $10 million to diabetes prevention

Nearly $10 million in funding will go to support local programs dedicated to the prevention of Type 2 diabetes through seven local Public Health Units and five Community Health Centres across Ontario, announced the provincial government Friday.

The programs will provide more screening for high-risk populations, resources to encourage healthy lifestyles, training to health professionals and educators on diabetes prevention and local awareness campaigns to direct people to the right programs and services.

“More than one million Ontarians are living with Type 2 diabetes and the number is growing every day. Providing communities across the province with support to prevent diabetes will help Ontarians remain healthy and reduce the burden on our health care system,” said Deb Matthews, Ontario's Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, in a release.

But France Gélinas, the NDP's health critic, said the Liberals' record on diabetes prevention leaves much to be desired.

“The government has, according to the auditor general, failed to ‘get it right’ when it comes to preventing Type 2 diabetes,” Gélinas said in a release.

According to the auditor general's 2012 General Report, the government spent more than $24 million to develop a diabetes registry it later scrapped.

Type 2 diabetes is preventable, but Gélinas said only three per cent of the government's $741 million commitment to diabetes treatment was earmarked for prevention programs.

Type 2 diabetes accounts for 90 per cent of all diabetes cases.

“Past failures and missteps have shown that this government doesn’t know how to get results when it comes to lowering diabetes rates in Ontario,” Gélinas in a relase.

“Any successful program needs to combine great communication, targeted spending, and effective oversight. While New Democrats welcome new efforts to reduce diabetes rates in Ontario, the Liberal track record does not inspire confidence.”