Scott McRae, the Regional Director for Alberta and Northwest Territories at Diabetes Canada says the movement to End Diabetes is about ending the stigma attached to living with Diabetes.
“Fear of stigma and discrimination is a reality for people living with diabetes, and many don’t want to admit they have the disease. People suffer in silence, and this new campaign invites Canadians to think about diabetes in ways they never have before.
End Diabetes is our rallying cry to stop the health impacts of diabetes as well as its shame, blame, and misinformation. Canadians living with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes tell us they often feel scared, angry, frustrated or overwhelmed. We need to create greater awareness about the realities of living with diabetes,” said McRae.
Diabetes Canada and the movement to End Diabetes bring to life a vision of Canadians with diabetes living a life free from fear of stigma, discrimination, and the complications that often come with this serious disease.
Diabetes Canada will launch End Diabetes through a campaign using the real words of people with diabetes put to song. The accompanying music video stresses the emotional toll of living with diabetes. The video and song aims to generate conversation about diabetes to make this invisible epidemic visible.
“Diabetes takes an enormous toll on our health. But what’s unappreciated is the emotional impact of living with this 24/7/365 disease. Today, the Canadian Diabetes Association has become Diabetes Canada and launched our movement to End Diabetes. As part of this, we released a new song and music video looking at diabetes stigma and the thoughts and emotions of people living with diabetes – using the actual words of people living with diabetes.
Additionally, we are funding research into diabetes stigma and mental health and developing tools to help health-care professionals’ better support people living with diabetes – including their emotional and mental health needs." said McRae
For more information, visit www.diabetes.ca or www.enddiabetes.ca