It is hoped a new charter will improve the lives of those suffering with diabetes.
The Canadian Diabetes Association announced the new charter Monday morning which outlines the rights and responsibilities of people living with the disease, governments and service providers.
CDA figures estimate diabetes rates are three to five times higher in First Nations communities.
CDA regional chair for northern Saskatchewan Peter Dickinson says this is why a charter is needed to bring all parts of the country up to the same levels of care.
“It’s become aware right across the country that we need to have a relative standard of quality of care, whichever province you’re in, because at the present moment there are differences in quality and the access to care and the aim is to really make sure it’s going to be consistent,” he says.
Florence Highway, a volunteer with CDA Saskatoon, agrees a charter is very much needed in both the province’s Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities.
“The charter is very important, it has to be inclusive, not only in Aboriginal communities but also in other communities because we all suffer from diabetes and it doesn’t matter who you are because diabetes does not choose who it attacks,” she says.
Currently 8.2 per cent of the Saskatchewan population is afflicted with diabetes and this number is expected to rise to 10.9 per cent by 2024.
The announcement of the charter was made in a number of Canadian cities, including Saskatoon, as part of World Health Day.