Diabetes Australia is calling on the government to support access to life-changing diabetes technology for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Attending a community event hosted by Marrin Weejali Aboriginal Corporation in Sydney’s Mount Druitt area, Diabetes Australia Group CEO Justine Cain highlighted the advantages of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices for people living with type 2 diabetes.

This National Diabetes Week (July 14-20), Ms Cain is calling on the Federal Government to invest $200 million in access to life-changing diabetes technologies for those Australians who need it the most.

“Our recent report, the State of the Nation, outlined how diabetes is disproportionately affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people,” Ms Cain said.

“The evidence is clear. The diabetes epidemic is having a profound impact in Aboriginal and Torries Strait Islander communities and there is an urgent need to bring about change.”

In remote central Australia, research has found that 40% of Aboriginal adults had been diagnosed with diabetes, marking the highest recorded diabetes prevalence in the world. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people also face the world’s highest rates of youth-onset type 2 diabetes.

“While CGM devices have proven to be effective in supporting people with type 2 diabetes to manage their glucose levels, they aren’t affordable for many people,” Ms Cain said.  

“That’s why we’re calling on the Federal Government to expand subsidies from CGM devices.

“In 2022, the Federal Government implemented subsidised access to CGM devices for all people living with type 1 diabetes. Now there is more to be done to expand that affordable access to people living with type 2 and other types of diabetes – especially the most vulnerable,” she said.

Diabetes Australia National Manager Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Engagement, Adjunct Associate Professor Deanne Minniecon, a Goreng Goreng and Erub woman, said Diabetes Australia is committed to alleviating the diabetes crisis in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. 

“There is more to be done to ensure affordable access to technologies. CGM devices have a huge impact, helping people to manage their glucose levels and stay healthy,” Adj Prof Minniecon said.

“No Australian should be missing out on effective health care. CGM devices have proven to be incredibly effective, especially for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living with diabetes,” she said.

Gomeroi man and award-winning exercise physiologist Ray Kelly has delivered the successful Too Deadly for Diabetes program through Marrin Weejali and said CGMs provide great education on glucose management.

“However, they aren’t subsidised, and are out of reach for many people who can’t afford them,” Mr Kelly said.

“We began using the technology in the Too Deadly for Diabetes program in 2022 and the impact was instant. We were already getting great health outcomes for our participants, but CGMs made it easier and safer to transition people off insulin.

“Many of the people in the program had been on insulin for over a decade so reading their glucose levels in real time gave them confidence in what they were doing.

“The alarm settings warned them if their glucose levels dropped too low, and the time in range reports gave their GPs clear information on how they were progressing. It’s been a game-changer!”

Ms Cain said investing in diabetes technologies will improve both health and economic outcomes.

“Research shows that these devices are game-changing in terms of managing glucose levels and improving time-in-range, which ultimately reduces diabetes complications and hospitalisations,” she said. 

“A study of CGM use in the UK found an 86% reduction in paramedic callouts and a 62% reduction in hospital admissions from hypoglycaemia.

“If we can reduce the number of people living with diabetes experiencing  complications like stroke, heart attack, blindness and kidney disease – we could reduce the economic burden on our health system by billions of dollars each year.

“This would also significantly improve the lives of people living with diabetes.”