Tribal people at risk of extinction from diabetes

The problem is so serious that Professor Paul Zimmet of the International Diabetes Institute has said, 'Without urgent action there certainly is a real risk of a major wipe-out [due to diabetes] of indigenous communities, if not total extinction, within this century.'

Survival's new report on indigenous people's health, 'Progress can kill', details the horrific rise in diabetes amongst tribal people who have been forced off their land and into a sedentary lifestyle. The Pima Indians of Arizona are a striking example: more than half of the Pima over the age of 35 have the disease. In Australia, Aborigines are 22 times more likely to die from diabetes than other Australians.