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Advocacy - Nova Scotia
What is Advocacy?
If you are one of the 50 000 Nova Scotians living with diabetes, or if you know someone affected by it, then you are aware of the challenges of living with this disease.
Some challenges arise because diabetes medication, education, and treatment programs are not affordable or obtainable. Others occur when people don’t know enough about diabetes and its complications.
Effective advocacy can help.
An advocate is a person who supports or speaks up to try to improve a situation. Advocacy is the act of providing verbal support or argument for a cause, policy or action. Everyone has the ability to advocate on their own behalf or on behalf of others.
We advocate because we see a perceived injustice or imbalance. When we advocate, we are asking for change. By speaking up and speaking out, we can raise awareness, change attitudes, expand policy and services, help reduce health care costs… and improve the quality of life for all Canadians affected by diabetes. By working together, we can send a strong and powerful message for change.
The Canadian Diabetes Association works to represent the interests of the more than 2 million Canadians living with diabetes to government, non-government associations, business and the public. We work with municipal, provincial, territorial and federal governments and policy-makers to ensure they recognize diabetes as one of the most significant public health issues in Canada today, and take action to address it. In Nova Scotia, our most recent focus has been on the issue of establishing a financial assistance program for low income Nova Scotians living with diabetes.
At a national level, our advocacy efforts are coordinated through the Office of Public Policy and Government Relations in Ottawa. This office supports the advocacy activities of the National Advocacy Council, the National Board of Directors, volunteer advocates and staff. The office also coordinates research activities and publishes reports and briefs that serve to guide and maintain the Association’s advocacy work. Volunteers and staff across the country recently joined forces in communities across Canada to convey a consistent message to candidates during the federal election campaign.