Back to Blog

Getting ready for summer...Richard's tips for dry weather food gardening

The Gardens4Health information sheets are being put online at the moment...below are links to two that are particularly timely as the weather gets warmer and we think about how much...or little water there may be around come summer. Dry gardening tips Water Conservation in the garden ...

Annual Activity Report - 2022-2023

The latest Annual Activity report has been approved by the Diabetes Foundation Aotearoa Board of Trustees at the final meeting of the year.  Highlights of this year include the ongoing Adolescent Bariatric Surgery study success stories, research by Professor David Simmons and team using DCSS audit data, new medication advocacy over the year, PhD candidate Kanchana Perera is underway with her 3 year project, and the team are busy and productive in the 'mostly-post covid' environment.&nb...

In the News

Duraglutide (Trulicity) is back in the news because of a global shortage of supply, as is the alternative Liraglutide (Victoza), due to popularisation of the medications for weight loss as modelled in social media.     Pharmac announced in their notices on 24 October 2023 that they "only secure enough stock for people currently taking these medicines".   An article in Pharmacy Today, Kaitiaki Rongoa O Te Wa on 7 November 2023, by Natasha Jojoa Bu...

You never know who you will run into...

Diabetes Foundation Aotearoa Manager, Karen Pickering, was out enjoying the Allfit Rotary Fun-run at Maraetai Beach on the weekend and saw a familiar face on the path.  Who was it but long term Diabetes Foundation Aotearoa Board member and popular Otara GP (retired), Dr Faye Clark.  Great excuse for Karen to stop to say hello!Dr Clark retired from her involvement with Diabetes Foundation Aotearoa in 2013 having started with the organisation back in 1998.  During this time Faye was...

Diabetes Days, Weeks and Months

It's that time of the year, November is 'Diabetes Action Month' or in some settings 'Diabetes Awareness Month'.  The Diabetes New Zealand website describes plenty of activities lined up round the country, and for 2023, the topic is eyes or "Eyes on Diabetes".   November also includes IDF World Diabetes Day (WDD) on the 14th with 2023 being the last year of a 3 year focus on prevention of type 2 diabetes and diabetes-related complications.Having a look around the world, activities ...

Health Expo in Howick

An excellent day was had in the Picton Street Howick Market on Saturday, organised by East Health Trust.   Diabetes Foundation Aotearoa Lifestyle Co-ordinator, Diana Anderson was there with the trusty displays and information to share, along with representatives of other organisations including Heart Foundation and the Howick Village Association.  Great to see different organisations come together in the community to take healthy messages direct to where people are. This event foc...

Happy Retirement to our wonderful Richard Main

Richard has announced his intention to start his retirement in December 2023 after 14 amazing years with Diabetes Foundation Aotearoa.  This means that the November Gardens4Health gathering, this one to be held at the Auckland Botanical Gardens next week, will be the last he attends as Project Manager for Gardens4health.Richard came to our organisation from Counties Manukau DHB back in 2008. This was part of a plan to ensure growth and sustainability for the community gardening pilot he had...

Announcement of a new healthy eating resource project... who wants to be involved?

We've been working away on doing the research and getting the groundwork organised for development of a new, locally relevant, teaching resource for healthy eating.  What's happened over the years is we have been using various tools ranging from plate models to plastic food to printed handouts, posters, booklets, fridge magnets etc...trying to line them up with versions of pyramids (and other shapes) and different styles of eating and it's all left us feeling like it's all a bit complicated...

Follow-up to Kate's trial of CGM

So the story was that Kate, our Nurse Practitioner, was offered the opportunity to try out Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) options to get a better understanding of the technology that can benefit her patients with type 1 diabetes.  We can report back that Kate knew the theory before, but can now say the reality stacks up very effectively.    Kate has also recently been talking with Pharmac regarding the funding for CGM and making insulin pumps more accessible for people with t...

Throwback - The first South Auckland Community Diabetes Educator Course - 30 years later

In the spirit of not forgetting the important achievements and milestones, lets go back to 1992 when some very motivated people, including Pam Tregonning (previous Board Chair for Diabetes Foundation Aotearoa), and Dr David Simmons were involved in organising ground breaking health worker courses in South Auckland.  The courses were in an arrangement with Manukau Institute of Technology (Manukau Technical Institute back then) and the first course was a Diabetes Field workers course.  B...

In the News

Professor Rinki Murphy, who was the Honorary Medical Director for Diabetes Foundation Aotearoa between 2019 and 2021, is continuing with her efforts to improve the care provided to people with diabetes.   In this article published in University of Auckland News she is promoting the importance of genetic testing to get the correct diagnosis of monogenic diabetes, follow-up up a recent publication in Communications Medicine.  Professor Murphy is quoted as saying “a genetic test ca...

Cook'n Kiwi hits 15 years in the Auckland Community

Every day there are reports of how the cost of living is increasing and how this is having the most negative effects on those who have least.   It has never been more important to have access to reliable, accurate and up to date information about how to eat in a healthy way in order to live well and prevent health conditions such as diabetes.  All this while spreading the shrinking food dollar further, and doing it all in a way that is satisfying and enjoyable to the whanau.The o...

Support for secondary schools - GetWize2health Programme

How can the adults of the future, and ultimately the parents of the future, be best set up to live healthy lives if they have their schooling delivered in an environment that doesn't promote and encourage the making of the healthier decisions?   How can students learn and live well when they don't have the resources to make decisions about living a healthy lifestyle...or even how to decide what information is safe to use among the range of sources available to them?Diabetes Foundation ...

Adolescent Bariatric Project - the first six are through!

Yesterday was a milestone (one among many) for the first six of the group of 20 young people (age 15-18) with diabetes or pre-diabetes who have been on a three year health journey as part of the Diabetes Foundation Aotearoa/Middlemore Hospital collaboration, the Adolescent Bariatric project.  See here for more information and here for a story from one participant.  From our organisation, Dr John Baker (Diabetes Specialist), Kate Smallman (Nurse Practitioner/Researcher), Trish Harry (He...

Video clip of Board Chair Dr John Baker speaking on medication access 2023

This clip uploaded by the Bowel Cancer society to Instagram of our Board Chair, Dr John Baker, speaking at the Auckland My Life Matters event.    https://www.instagram.com/reel/CyDFd7dvI3d/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==...

"No-one is left behind" - MyLifeMatters

In the last few months we've been privileged to be part of the MyLifeMatters campaign where organisations, individuals, patients and supporters have come together collaboratively to advocate and make a difference to what is described as the 'medications crisis' in Aotearoa.   Advocacy for improved medications and technology for treatment of diabetes has formed a strong part of the mahi of Diabetes Foundation Aotearoa in recent years, and the opportunity to add our voice to that of many...

Showcasing community gardens across Tāmaki Makaurau

On our Facebook pages (Diabetes Foundation Aotearoa and Gardens4Health) we've posted recently about a few of the community gardens we've been working with.    Facilitator for West/North Auckland, Tania, has been out and about with gifts of seedlings and supplies for some of the gardens in her areas, and you'll be seeing more soon from other areas.   Sometimes there's a community garden tucked down a side street near you, on your drive somewhere, or a new one develops you hadn...

Staying in Touch - old resources... time for a stocktake and review

How old is too old for a teaching or information resource?  When does something move past being ok, into being too outdated and out of fashion to be useful?  What criteria should be used to evaluate resources?  Should we be printing paper copies?  How much translation is needed, and what languages?  Has anyone done a resource on this topic or that? Who holds these things?  Who monitors or updates?  These are some of the many questions we're asking ourselves as ...

In the News

There's a familiar face in this article by Jo McCarroll/NZ Gardener, find it on Stuff here.  The article is about the amazing Auckland Mission HomeGround roof garden.  What an extraordinary effort.   Gardens4Health Manager, Richard Main (pictured) has been privileged to be involved since the start, working alongside  engineers, architects and others and providing advice and support for the innovative rooftop garden.  As Richard talks to Jo about in the article, he i...

MyLifeMatters

The My Life Matters medication access campaign has travelled the country and generated plenty of discussion, headlines and coverage.  It's never been more important for the voices of patients and supporters to be heard to make sure the decisions made by the medication agency Pharmac reflect the sort of country we want to live in.  If you haven't had a look at the campaign information, go here https://www.mylifematters.org.nz/.  More importantly, sign up to attend the final Roadsho...

Publication - DCSS - Atrial Fibrillation and Impaired Glucose Tolerance

Latest findings from Professor David Simmons and team analysis of DCSS data relating to Atrial Fibrillation (AF) published in Journal of the American Heart Association.    Congratulations Dahai Yu et al on another publication!The conclusion from the abstract is "This study found a mediating effect of T2D on the risk of AF in a population with IGT in New Zealand"   The recommendation was there was a need for more study to replicate findings to help with identification of indiv...

CGM - Kate gets to try out what is being recommended for her patients with Type 1 diabetes

On our Facebook page we've posted links to a website which is advocating on behalf of people with Type 1 Diabetes to get better and more equitable access to Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) technology.   https://www.nomorefear.org.nz/  It's an interesting and thought provoking read, and if you aren't familiar with the topic, will help with understanding of just how important and life changing (and life saving!) these devices can be.  There's a link on the site for a petiti...

MyLifeMatters - Medication funding in New Zealand

This headline (RNZ, 28 August 2023) referred to the launch of a campaign into which a massive amount of work has been done to co-ordinate efforts to act for those who are unable to access effective, proven medications and treatments, many of which are funded and available in other countries.   This process has been lead by Malcolm Mulholland of Patient Voice Aotearoa supported by a range of community organisations, and the launch will be followed up by a Roadshow around the country ove...

Cassie's trip to the American Society for Nutrition Conference

Written by Cassie Slade - Lifestyle Facilitator, Schools.I travelled from Auckland on a cold winter morning to summer in Canada. Firstly flying to Toronto and then by car in the early hours to my final destination of St Catharine's. St Catharine's is a city about 20 mins from Niagara Falls and is home to Brock University.  My host at Brock, Professor Wendy Ward, is in the Kinesiology Department. She was incredibly welcoming and generous with sharing her time and knowledge. Wendy’s researc...

Welcome to our newest Board Member - Ruby McGill

The Diabetes Foundation Aotearoa is thrilled to welcome Ruby McGill (Te Ātiawa) as a new member of the Board of Trustees.Ruby is a well known advocate for people with diabetes, particularly Type 1.  Her bio describes her as "Blogger, business owner, mum and Type 1 diabetes (T1D) warrior who is determined to live a long, full and healthy life, while sharing her experience to help others thrive with T1D. Ruby was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was 14 years old. And has become a...