The Government will invest $6 million over two years to fund the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Diabetic Foot Complication Project.
The project, announced this week by Minister for Health, Greg Hunt, will see Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with or at risk of diabetes-related foot problems and amputations, receiving increased support from the government to reduce illness and death as a result of their condition.
The Project will be run by a consortium, which includes the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute and Diabetes Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health organisations, clinical researchers, vascular surgeons, diabetologists, allied health professionals, and diabetes educators.
Indigenous Australians experience diabetes at a rate three times that of non-Indigenous Australians. Diabetes hospitalisations and deaths are more common among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians than other Australians, and diabetes foot-related problems disproportionately affect indigenous Australians.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Diabetic Foot Complication Project will be conducted across South Australia, Northern Territory, Western Australia and Far North Queensland.
The Project will assess the burden of diabetic foot-related complications in indigenous Australians, define best practice, improve clinical care, and better equip health workers to provide foot care needs.
It is part of a comprehensive range of Government-funded initiatives that are driving the fight against diabetes.
