“It's on fire.” These are the words I wrote in my first post about AID access in Australia earlier this year.
There are some truths about grassroots advocacy that I have found to be consistent: it must come from the community. If an issue does not matter to a significant number of people in the community, nothing will happen. Advocacy is truly organic. To be realistic and honest about the consultation process, there should be no preconceived notions about the outcome of the consultation. Rather, there should be a recognition that agility and quick pivoting are necessary if that is what the community dictates. And at every stage, there needs to be meaningful engagement with true conviction. Expertise is held by all stakeholders, especially those with lived experience.This is the foundation that we have built and I am so pleased that we have taken every step of our AID grassroots movement over the past few months.
After months of work and meetings with the community, the time has come to bring all stakeholders together. In May, I National AID Access Summit With Professor Peter Coleman. That was part of the plan. It was chaired by clinicians and practitioners, to show how important it is to have input from a diverse cohort. There were unashamedly as many practitioners as there were other participants. That's what you need to put people with diabetes at the centre. We also had an independent facilitator directing traffic. This was important because we didn't want this work to be owned by any one person or organisation. This wasn't some guy's show or some guy's vanity project. This was a community effort. Along with, by It’s for people with T1D, not for us.
The outcome of the Summit, and the work that led to it, is a consensus statement that sets out clear and concise recommendations. Fortunately, this statement was completed the same week that the Diet Inquiry Report on Diabetes was tabled, making this alignment all the more meaningful because our recommendations are in perfect agreement with those of the report.
The consensus statement can be accessed and shared here.,and Survey on Equitable Access to Aid About 6,000 people signed it.
Now it's up to the community. The congressional investigation has made recommendations, but they're not enough. Now is the time to put in the work to turn them into policy. And this is where the community comes to the fore again. Today, I wrote to my local congressman, asked him to set up a time to meet with me, and shared the consensus statement. I intend to emphasize how important this technology is, and that it's unfair that it's only available to those who can pay for it. The better outcomes that AIDs provide should be available to all people with type 1 diabetes, not just those who can get private health insurance or qualify for insulin pump programs.
If you are interested and can get involved, please do. Community efforts have led to some really great results in the past. When we look back at the journey to getting CGMs available to everyone with type 1 diabetes, the community has really stepped up in a great way. It took time and energy, but we got here thanks to the tireless efforts of people with diabetes. It was really important It has motivated people with type 1 diabetes and their families to maintain a “never give up” attitude to see it through.
Now is the time for all Australians with type 1 diabetes to have access to AID if they want it. Update on AID access survey I have some great ideas on how to get involved, contact me if you need any ideas.