Archive - May 1, 2007

Chiefs of Ontario June General Assembly at Pellican Falls in Sioux Lookout

From http://chiefs-of-ontario.org/news/april30-07.html

April 30, 2007 ANNOUNCEMENT: All Ontario Chiefs Conference

As per the decision of the Political Confederacy, April 20, 2007, please be advised the All Ontario Chiefs Conference is confirmed and scheduled for June 12-13-14, 2007 to be held in Sioux Lookout at the Pelican Falls First Nations High School.

Continental breakfast and lunch will be provided for the duration of the Conference.

Should you have any questions, please contact this office toll-free 1-877-517-6527.

We look forward to seeing you at the Assembly.

Miigwetch.

COO_Assembly_Pelican.jpg

KO programs part of celebration of Northern Prosperity Plan report release

The work being completed by Keewaytinook Okimakanak's Kuhkenah Network team in partnership with the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund (NOHFC) was highlighted at the release of the Progress Report of the Northern Prosperity Plan by Minister Bartolucci, in Sudbury yesterday at Cambrian College.

Ministry of Northern Development and Mines News Release ... 
 
April 30, 2007
 
Northerners Seeing Real Results From Northern Prosperity Plan -

Progress Report Demonstrates Positive Impacts Of Plan On North And Minerals Sector

SUDBURY – Record investments in highway expansion and rehabilitation projects and safer drinking water for 63 northern communities are just two of the results highlighted in a progress report on the Ontario government’s Northern Prosperity Plan released today by Northern Development and Mines Minister Rick Bartolucci. 

“When our government unveiled the Northern Prosperity Plan three years ago, we said we were providing better economic tools to help northerners build stronger communities,” said Bartolucci. “Today I am pleased to report that northerners have seized the opportunities offered under the plan’s programs, with gratifying results.”

The progress report was released at a pan-northern videoconference broadcast from Cambrian College’s eDome in Sudbury. The videoconference connected groups of community, business and education leaders in North Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, Sioux Lookout, Sudbury, Thunder Bay and Timmins. 

The progress report details results of McGuinty government programs and initiatives to support northern economic development and the province’s minerals sector. It also profiles individuals and businesses that are achieving success with help from provincial programs and initiatives, including a group of biomedical research companies in Thunder Bay that are at the forefront of cutting edge research, development and innovation in the health and life sciences sector.

“Biomedical research is the next big economic driver,” said Dr. Ryan Parr, vice-president of research and development at Genesis Genomics, a potential tenant of Thunder Bay’s new Cancer and Cardiac Research Centre to which the Ontario government has provided more than $2 million. “We’re on the boundary of a revolution, which means tremendous economic development potential for the North.”

“Despite the long-standing challenges of our cyclical economy, today we celebrate northerners’ efforts to build a prosperous North,” said Bartolucci. “I am proud that our government’s Northern Prosperity Plan has been an important catalyst for a range of community and economic development initiatives upon which the future of Ontario’s North and its minerals sector are being built.”

The Northern Prosperity Plan is founded on four pillars: Strengthening the North and its Communities; Listening to and Serving Northerners Better; Competing Globally; and Providing Opportunities for All.

The report is available online at www.ontario.ca/northernprosperity and in print at ministry offices and Government Information Centres / ServiceOntario centres throughout the North.

-30-

Contacts:

Laura Blondeau
Minister’s Office – Sudbury
(705) 564-7454

Ron St. Louis
MNDM – Sudbury
(705) 564-7120

International Diabetes Federation calls on gov't to act now on epidemic

Press release ...

Governments Must Act on Biggest Epidemic in Human History - New IDF Consensus on Prevention of Diabetes is Launched

BARCELONA, April 26 - The diabetes pandemic is threatening to overwhelm global healthcare services. Today, the International Diabetes Federation (IDF - http://www.idf.org) launched a new consensus statement on diabetes prevention, to be published in the May issue of Diabetic Medicine, hot on the heels of a December 2006 United Nations General Assembly resolution calling for concerted international action.

"The UN resolution is a huge win in the fight against the biggest disease epidemic in human history. Diabetes is responsible for close to 4 million deaths every year. With 246 million people with diabetes now and 380 million people with diabetes by 2025, diabetes is set to bankrupt national economies(1)," said Professor Paul Zimmet, Director, International Diabetes Institute and co-author of the consensus. "Type 2 diabetes can be prevented, but it will take enormous political will on the part of governments to make this a reality. They can achieve this by creating the environment that allows individuals to make lifestyle changes. That is why we are calling on all countries to endorse the UN resolution and to target entire populations through the development and implementation of National Diabetes Prevention Plans."

The new IDF consensus recommends that all individuals at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes be identified through opportunistic screening by doctors, nurses, pharmacists and through self-screening.

Professor Sir George Alberti, Past President of IDF and co-author of the new IDF consensus said: "There is overwhelming evidence from studies in the USA, Finland, China, India and Japan that lifestyle changes (achieving a healthy body weight and moderate physical activity) can help prevent the development of type 2 diabetes in those at high risk(2-6). The new IDF consensus advocates that this should be the initial intervention for all people at risk of developing type 2 diabetes, as well as the focus of population health approaches."

In addition to the need for individual lifestyle change, IDF recognizes that there are powerful environmental forces that influence the behavioural, eating and exercise patterns of the community.

"Inadvertently, our own government authorities may have contributed to this epidemic by allowing developers to create urban social problems," said Professor Avi Friedman, Professor of Architecture at McGill University, Montreal. "Urban sprawls are part and parcel of new developments without proper attention to building design, sidewalks, bike paths, public transport corridors, playing fields and friendly exercise areas that are essential and need to be accessible to people who want to maintain a healthy lifestyle."

National Diabetes Prevention Plans will therefore require coordinated policy and legislative changes across all sectors including health, education, sports and agriculture, as well as the formation of strategic relationships. They must be culturally sensitive and targeted to mobilize all sectors of the community.

"Diabetes is already a massive social cost, and it is up to politicians to decide whether they will spend more and more money on acute care and drugs, or invest in prevention by supporting lifestyle change among the entire population," said Professor Alberti.

"A Kyoto-like agreement on diabetes prevention and management is needed among governments worldwide if we are to prevent this problem from becoming catastrophic," concluded Professor Zimmet.

For further information, please access the webcast of the press conference via http://www.idf.org/webcast/barcelona

Notes to Editors

The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) is the global advocate for more than 240 million people with diabetes worldwide. It represents 200 diabetes associations in more than 150 countries. The mission of IDF is to promote diabetes care, prevention and a cure worldwide. IDF is a non-governmental organisation in official relations with the World Health Organisation.

About Diabetes

Each year 7 million people develop diabetes and the most dramatic increases in type 2 diabetes have occurred in populations where there have been rapid and major changes in lifestyle, demonstrating the important role played by lifestyle factors and the potential for reversing the global epidemic. A person with type 2 diabetes is 2 - 4 times more likely to get cardiovascular disease (CVD), and 80% of people with diabetes will die from it. Premature mortality caused by diabetes results in an estimated 12 to 14 years of life lost. A person with diabetes incurs medical costs that are two to five times higher than those of a person without diabetes, and the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that up to 15% of annual health budgets are spent on diabetes-related illnesses (www.idf.org).

There is conclusive evidence that good control of blood glucose levels and management of high blood pressure and aspects of the lipid profile (blood fats) can slow the progression to or of type 2 diabetes, and substantially reduce the risk of developing complications (such as cardiovascular, eye and kidney disease) in people with diabetes.

Acknowledgment

The IDF consensus on diabetes prevention was supported by an educational grant from AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals.

References

  1. Diabetes Atlas, third edition, International Diabetes Federation, 2006
  2. Pan X, Li g, Hu Y, Wang J, Yang W, An Z., Effects of diet and exercise in preventing NIDDM in people with impaired glucose tolerance. The Da Qing IGT and Diabetes Study. Diabetes Care 1997; 20: 537-544
  3. Tuomilehto J. Lindstrom J, Eriksson J, Valle T, Hamalainen H., Prevention of type 2 diabetes mellitus by changes in lifestyle among subjects with impaired glucose tolerance. N Engl J Med 2001; 344: 1343-1350
  4. Ramachandran A, Snehalatha C, Mary S, Mukesh B, Bhaskar A, Vijay V., The Indian Diabetes Prevention Programme shows that lifestyle modification and metformin prevent type 2 diabetes in Asian Indian subjects with impaired glucose tolerance (IDPP-1). Diabetologia 2006; 49 (2): 289-297
  5. Knowler W, Barrett-Connor E, Fowler SE, Hamman RF, Lachin JM., Reduction in the incidence of type 2 diabetes with lifestyle intervention or metformin. N Engl J Med 2002; 346: 393-403
  6. Kosaka K, Noda M, Kuzuya T. Diab Res Clin Pract 2005; 67: 152-162,

For further information: Anne Pierson, Press Events Manager, IDF, Tel: +32-2-543-1623, Mobile: +32-475-343-788, E-mail: anne@idf.org;. Kait Ayres, Mandarin Healthcare Communications, Tel: +44-1727-854-239, Mobile: e+44-7850-374860, E-mail: kait.ayres@talk21.com.

Producing their own resource materials is more effective for suicide prevention

From CBC News online ...

Aboriginal suicide prevention program not working, survey says
April 30, 2007 - CBC News

Health Canada's efforts to curb the high aboriginal youth suicide rate haven't been working, according to a survey of suicide prevention workers conducted earlier this year.

The survey by Ekos Research Associates, which was submitted to Health Canada in March, consisted of telephone interviews between January and March with 34 people working in the field of aboriginal suicide prevention, including front-line health-care workers, consultants and academics.

The results suggested that some of Health Canada's existing suicide prevention materials have been a waste of money.

Interviewees "generally dismissed the resources because they were thought to be culturally irrelevant, inappropriately worded, and lacking in actionable solutions," the report read.

"Several interviewees mentioned finding large numbers of materials sitting untouched in piles at post offices and hospitals and, distressingly, many suicide prevention workers said that materials were often discarded before anyone had the chance to look at them."

"Government-created materials and resources did not receive many favourable mentions from interviewees because they are often seen as unnecessary, ineffective, and wasteful of tax dollars," the report added.

"The suicide rate really hasn't gone down," said Mary Simon, president of the national organization Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami. "In fact, it's probably gone up. So whatever has been done up to now hasn't worked."

Health Minister Tony Clement acknowledged that more is needed to fight youth suicide.

"If you're asking me whether a single pamphlet can make a difference, not likely," he said. "But I think pamphlets, along with other forms of media communication, all of these things are going to be part of the solution."

Social workers who participated in the survey said they don't even remember what was in the government pamphlets, and instead created their own posters, information sheets, workbooks and kits. Some workers emphasized getting youth involved in hands-on activities such as building hockey rinks and holding fashion shows and talent contests.

"In most cases, interviewees felt that governments should continue to play a funding role and should not expend resources on producing ineffective materials," the report read. "It was frequently stated that the federal government should support the people in the community in their efforts to create and distribute materials."

Survey respondents said they would prefer the government create multimedia kits for front-line workers that would include comic books, DVDs of "success story" testimonials from aboriginal youth and youth workers, as well as links to suicide prevention websites and toll-free telephone hotlines.

However, some workers in isolated and economically depressed communities said they would benefit from pamphlets and other basic suicide prevention information.

In 2005, the federal government launched the National Aboriginal Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy, which will give funding to aboriginal communities to decide for themselves the best way of reaching out to young people. The Northwest Territories government says it is currently in the process of deciding how the funding will be spent.