Impact

 

ACDPA members work together to collectively advocate for prevention, integrated risk assessment, early detection and effective management of chronic disease risk. Through ACDPA, Cancer Council Australia, Diabetes Australia, National Heart Foundation of Australia, Kidney Health Australia and the Stroke Foundation provide a united, independent, trusted voice on preventing chronic disease.

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At the heart of our work are the people affected by serious chronic conditions. The five non-government organisations in ACDPA represent, and are informed by, the lived experiences of people affected by cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes and chronic kidney disease. Through prevention, we strive to reduce the social and financial burden on individuals and the community and reduce the impact on the health system.

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Sustained action to improve public health

Public health requires long-term vision and a multifactorial approach to reduce risk factors, and ultimately, chronic disease. In the past three years, ACDPA has been making an impact through:

• letters and meetings with government

• submissions and position statements highlighting ACDPA recommendations on evidence-based policies

• media releases and community awareness

• stakeholder engagement and policy input

• representation on significant government committees to shape national health policy.

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Sustained advocacy by ACDPA together with other public health groups is contributing to policy changes that lead to healthier food and physical environments:

• National approach to prevention through the development of a national preventive health strategy

• Changes to the Health Star Rating food labelling system to improve the ratings calculator and increase uptake

• Changes to food and drink labelling, including added sugars labelling and consistent energy labelling on fast food menus

• Changes to alcohol labelling, including mandatory pregnancy warning labels and energy labelling on alcoholic drinks

• National approach to obesity through the current development of a national obesity prevention strategy

• Changes to unhealthy food marketing with decisions by some state governments to restrict unhealthy food marketing on government-owned properties

• National approach to physical activity, including the first National Sport Plan identifying physical activity as a core pillar

• Support for integrated risk assessment, including funding to update the Guidelines for the Management of Absolute Cardiovascular Disease Risk and an initial MBS item for heart health checks.

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Download the full ACDPA Impact Statement 2020.

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