An estimated 400,000 Australians have the most common form of diabetes but don't know it. They risk going blind, becoming impotent, developing coronary heart disease or experiencing kidney failure, stroke or amputation of limbs.

Unless effective awareness and prevention strategies are put in place, more than one million Australians will develop the condition within the next ten years.

Commonwealth, State and Territory Health Ministers meeting in Canberra today unanimously agreed that national action was needed to increase awareness, combat the prevalence and reduce the severity of diabetes in the community.

In addition to launching a major report on diabetes mellitus, developed under the National Health Priority Area initiative, Ministers also released a National Diabetes Strategy.

The Federal Minister for Health and Aged Care, Dr Michael Wooldridge said the NHPA report revealed some alarming statistics.

"As well as the number of people with diabetes doubling since the early 1980s, our indigenous population are two to four times more likely to have diabetes than other Australians and death rates in rural and remote areas are two to three times higher than in metropolitan areas," he said.

"The prevalence is also higher among Australians from certain population groups, particularly South Pacific Islanders, Asian Indians and Chinese. Diabetes can lead to pregnancy-related complications, both for a mother and her foetus or newborn baby."

Associate Professor John Carter, member of the Commonwealth Diabetes Taskforce, said early diagnosis and effective management were vital keys to diabetes control.

"It is also of great concern that an estimated ten per cent of Australians over 65 years of age have diabetes but half of them don't know it - and that some indigenous communities have diabetes prevalence rates of more than 40 per cent," he said.

"Good glucose control can delay the onset and slow progression of complications in all types of diabetes. A major problem is that people with undiagnosed diabetes, particularly Type 2, can remain without symptoms until significant complications set in.

"The earlier a person is diagnosed, the sooner treatment can begin aiming to prevent or at least delay the onset and progression of serious complications."

Dr Wooldridge said the National Diabetes Strategy had been developed as a result of the report's findings and other work undertaken under the National Health Priority initiative.

"For the first time, we have adopted a comprehensive national action plan on diabetes. This five-year plan will set Australia on a long-term course to ensure that we tackle diabetes in a thorough and comprehensive way and so relieve the burden this disease has on so many people and on our health system.

"To further efforts in this area, we are planning to hold a special Diabetes Summit later this year which will help identify specific activities that need to be undertaken to combat diabetes at the national, state and regional levels."

ACT Health Minister, Michael Moore, who is hosting the Conference, added that the report on diabetes was one of three in a series developed under the National Health Priority Area initiative.

"This involved various levels of Australian government, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW)," he said.

"It is no good addressing these problems in a piece meal fashion, what we have to do is work together to implement strategies that are holistic, encompassing the continuum of care from prevention through to treatment and management to rehabilitation. All underpinned by evidence based on appropriate research."

Media Contact: Adam Connolly, Dr Wooldridge's Office: 02 6277 7220
Rachel Hill, Mr Moore's Office: 0407 231 984
Associate Professor John Carter: 0412 465 452 ; 029 477 3701