Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to ask the Minister of Health and Social Services what type of programs are there for people in the Sahtu that are dealing with diabetes.
Thank you, Mr. Yakeleya. The honourable Minister of Health and Social Services, Mr. Beaulieu.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The health authorities had run diabetes programs and so on. I recognize that recently a diabetes program was shut down, but the services right now are basically in consultation with the health professionals in the various communities in the Sahtu at this time. That is what is available.
Can the Minister tell me and tell the House what type of programs the Department of Health and Social Services are working on with other community agencies or partnerships with the Northern Store or the Co-ops to support people who have to deal with diabetes?
Diabetes is a chronic disease. The department does have the medication needed for chronic disease that is available to the people. Also the home care for individuals that have diabetes, a home care worker will go in and do work in…
I would like to remind the Members on the sidebar conversations that Mr. Beaulieu has the floor. He is answering the Member. Mr. Beaulieu, you may continue.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The home care people will work with the feet of elders, especially elders with diabetes and so on and also trying to work with programs such as advising people with diabetes on activity and also diet. Thank you.
There has been an increase of diabetes in the Sahtu and in our smaller communities. I want to ask the Minister to continue this type of support that he just talked about, working with the Northern Stores, working with the Co-op to bring in some of their diet supplementary foods that people can purchase in these local stores to help them with the disease of diabetes. Does the Minister have a strategy with the local stores to bring in supplies that would help people with diabetes?
The Member is right; diabetes is increasing by 200 people per year in the Northwest Territories. That is pretty extreme for a small population. We are developing a Diabetes Strategy. This is something the department is doing.
Currently we do various programs in the schools where we’re teaching kids about healthy choices and looking at their lunches and so on, discouraging any drinks or any type of food that has a high content of sugar and sodium, so we are trying to promote in the schools for the kids to eat a good, healthy lunch that includes lots of vegetables and fruit. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Beaulieu. Final, short supplementary, Mr. Yakeleya.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My mother had diabetes. She died because of diabetes so it is very close to me that this program here has the attention that is needed. There are people in the Sahtu that do have it today, people in the Northwest Territories. Can the Minister tell me if this diabetes program we have now will receive a little more priority in terms of bringing programs into our communities that will give some indication to some early screening for our people in the communities that may not know that they are getting signs that diabetes could come into their life?
This very important item for the department is part of our overall prevention strategy. We have had discussions at a national level on childhood obesity which leads to diabetes among other things. Not only is this something that we are paying attention to in the Northwest Territories, but really it is a national issue. We are all on board and we all want to see a decrease in diabetes. It is a very bad disease. Many people have died from diabetes in the Northwest Territories.
