The American Diabetes Association (ADA) and Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, announced a program to increase equitable access to eye health care in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. The program, an extension of the Health Equity Now initiative, will focus on identifying and removing barriers to care facing Black and Hispanic/Latino communities in the DC region, the ADA said in a press release. 

Black, Native American/Alaska Native, Hispanic/Latino and older adults living with diabetes are at higher risk of losing their vision or going blind compared to non-Hispanic white adults. Comprehensive eye exams play a crucial role in the prevention, early detection and intervention of eye disease and vision loss caused by diabetes, yet many in these communities either don't receive or don't have appropriate access to eye health care. Every year, an estimated 3,300 adults in DC are diagnosed with diabetes. Citywide, about 7.8% of the adult population has diagnosed diabetes, yet prevalence rates vary greatly by neighborhood. In some wards, between 11.8% to 13.5% of residents have diagnosed diabetes.