Public Servant Denied Afghanistan Posting Due to Diabetes

A Canadian public servant has filed a discrimination suit because her employer, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), will not allow her to take a posting in Afghanistan because she has type 1 diabetes.

The Ottawa Citizen reports that Bronwyn Cruden has received very little support from her employer. CIDA is following a recommendation from Health Canada to not allow Cruden to work in Afghanistan. Health Canada’s policy is to recommend against postings in hostile environments for federal public servants with type 1 diabetes.

However, CIDA is not bound by the recommendation of Health Canada and Cruden has the support of two medical specialists who claim she is capable of taking on the posting. Cruden says she has taken all appropriate precautions to monitor and manage her diabetes and is confident that she is capable of taking on a posting in Afghanistan.

Despite appealing to numerous superiors at CIDA, Cruden has not been able to get the agency to change its mind. As a result, Cruden filed a discrimination complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission. Cruden told the Ottawa Citizen that Diabetics “can prove we can do anything we want ot as long as society doesn’t stand in your way.”

—-
Annie blogs about the art and science of parenting at the PhD in Parenting blog.

Photo credit: :[ Melissa ]: on flickr

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Marie K.

5:41AM PDT on Apr 1, 2011

Afghanistan IS still a war zone with terrible upsets to its infrastructure that are still in the process of being fixed. Insulin has to be kept refrigerated (but never frozen) during transport and storage. It is highly likely that even if there is a pharmacy near her posting that supplies insulin, their supply will be interrupted or spoiled on a regular basis due to transportation problems and power outages. On the other hand, if she is able to manage her diabetes with one of the drugs that forces the pancreas to produce insulin, she might be totally ok in Afghanistan. But, I wouldn't be surprised if the true, unspoken and totally illegal reason they don't want to send her there is because it is a Muslim country and she is a female.

send a green star

Ruadha S.

11:39PM PST on Feb 28, 2011

Kerrileigh Grady--I agree totally. A Type 2 diabetic (like me) can manage much longer without any medication, than a Type1. I would guess the worry would be PHYSICALLY separated from health care. (This IS a war zone.) It shouldn't single out diabetes, but include any condition that can't go without a particular med for, say, 3 days. But if she really wants to go and signs off on the responsibility---more power to her.

A similiar point--my state got the helmet law shot down about two decades ago--(meaning you can buzz along on your motorcycle with the wind thru you hair--right up to the point where your brains decorate the pavement.) You certainally have the right to take part in any high risk but legal behaviour--but I also have the right to not pay taxes for your rehab or rescue. Insurance should pay its part; but here in the states--when insurance runs out, the state takes over.

Laura D.

4:25AM PST on Feb 12, 2011

Obviously the policy is in place for her own protection, but if she is willing and feels prepared to take the risks they should let her.

Barbara E.

7:29PM PST on Feb 11, 2011

noted and thanx

Carolan I.

7:05PM PST on Feb 10, 2011

[[a policy that is in place for her own protection]] That, in a nutshell, is a source of the problem.

She has a disease that is not her own fault, that is managed with medication. Afganistan is not a wilderness, she should be able to manage her condition while over there. However, if she is willing to take that small risk to serve her country, that is her right and her choice. How would you like it if you were told by the government to quit the career you loved "for your own protection"? Because, say, you'd tripped and broken your ankle in the past and gosh, you might trip and break something else?

Karen and Ed O.

11:06AM PST on Feb 10, 2011

I do not see both points of view. I think Canada is totally wrong. My husband has Type 2 diabetes and it is managed with exercise and diet. Even if a person has to take insulin, hasn't Canada ever heard of the internet. There is no reason she couldn't manage her health in Afghanistan just as well as in Ottawa.
I hope she wins her suit and gets the position she wants.

Ross E.

10:52AM PST on Feb 10, 2011

I'm not sure that there's any guarantee of availability of necessary medication in a country like Afghanistan. No insulin, then what?

Ellen G.

10:39AM PST on Feb 10, 2011

Looks to me more like someone screaming "I have a right to do whatever I damn well please" vilifying a policy that is in place for her own protection. A discrimination suit should not be allowed. In this instance I believe the company has a right to make rules to protect itself and its employees from situations that could easily become life threatening.

Mike and Janis B.

10:04AM PST on Feb 10, 2011

This is ridiculous, you can manage this disease very easily if you have any common sense. Health Canada has been in the pockets of big pharma for years and make out the disease has to be constantly life threatening. This gives insurance companies grounds to discriminate too. Good for her taking this to court, we had to do the same to get animal insulin back (it is far better at controlling diabetes than the synthetic crap that puts big pharma into the big bucks.) We can all sign waivers to relieve Health Canada of responsibility but to tell someone they are not a whole person..... well!

DORIS L.

8:32AM PST on Feb 10, 2011

As long as she has demonstrated that she is very capable at controlling her diabetes and has taken into acct how to get what she needs in another country, there is no reason she shouldn't be given the post.