Overview

Who:

The project was initiated and developed by the Manitoba Association of Community Health (MACH), a non-profit organization that focuses on supporting initiatives that involve community heath and development, and primary health care. The project has developed with the generous support of Health Canada’s Métis, Off-Reserve Aboriginal and Urban Inuit Prevention and Promotion (MOAUIPP) program, and key program partners.

Why:

Rates of diabetes among Aboriginal people in Canada are three to five times higher than those of the general Canadian population. Aboriginal children are also now being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, a condition that in the past occurred mainly in older persons. (Health Canada)

MACH recognized the need for an educational tool to address the alarming increase of type 2 diabetes among Aboriginal youth and initiated the Diabetes Medicine Bag program.