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American
Diabetes Association criticizes
Administration's proposal to flatten
Diabetes research and prevention funding in
FY08
ALEXANDRIA, Va., Feb. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/
-- The President, Medicine & Science,
American Diabetes Association, Larry C. Deeb,
MD, issued the following statement in
response to the Bush Administration's
proposed Fiscal Year 2008 budget, announced
today, which would continue to under-fund
diabetes research and prevention at the
National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC).
Under the Administration's budget proposal,
funding for the National Institute of
Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
-- an NIH research division -- would be
funded at $1.858 billion, less than a 1
percent increase from the previous fiscal
year.
Additionally, funding for CDC's Division of
Diabetes Translation (DDT) would be
flat-funded at $62.8 million. DDT runs
state-based Diabetes Prevention and Control
Programs that help those suffering from
diabetes better control and manage the
disease and help those at risk prevent or
delay its onset, but has been unable to keep
up with the dramatic growth of the disease.
ADA is urging Congress to increase NIH diabetes research
funding by 8 percent and CDC diabetes
prevention at DDT by $20.8 million -- one
dollar for every American with diabetes.
"It is very unfortunate that the Bush
Administration, as demonstrated by today's
budget proposal, has failed to recognize
that diabetes is the greatest public health
crisis of the first quarter of the 21st
century.
The Bush Administration and Congress have not
increased the federal resources directed at
diabetes in four years, while the disease
has grown by nearly 30 percent in that same
time period.
Currently, one in ten health care dollars --
and one in four Medicare dollars -- is spent
on diabetes and its complications. Without
the proper investment in diabetes treatment
and prevention, which this budget proposal
fails to provide, our health care system
will continue to spiral downward.
"The federal government needs to support NIH
research toward a cure and improved
treatments and strengthen CDC's efforts to
prevent and treat diabetes in our
communities. Maintaining inadequate funding
levels – while diabetes grows at an alarming
rate -- is unacceptable. The American
Diabetes Association calls on Congress to
provide a stronger investment that is
required to prevent and treat diabetes,"
Deeb said.
Diabetes is one of this nation's most
prevalent, debilitating, deadly and costly
diseases. Nearly 21 million American
children and adults live with diabetes, and
another 54 million have pre-diabetes.
According to the CDC, one in three Americans --
and one in two minorities -- born in 2000
will develop diabetes in their lifetime, if
current trends continue. Every year,
diabetes contributes to over 224,000 deaths.
The American Diabetes Association is the
nation's leading voluntary health
organization supporting diabetes research,
information and advocacy.
The Association's advocacy efforts include
helping to combat discrimination against
people with diabetes; advocating for the
increase of federal diabetes research and
programs; and improved access to, and
quality of, healthcare for people with
diabetes.
The Association's mission is to prevent and
cure diabetes and to improve the lives of
all people affected by diabetes. Founded in
1940, the Association provides service to
hundreds of communities across the country.
For more information please call the American
Diabetes Association at 1-800-DIABETES
(1-800-342-2383) or visit
http://www.diabetes.org. Information
from both these sources is available in
English and Spanish.
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