The former Footscray resident, who is a manager of settlement partnerships for the Adult Multicultural Education Services, has managed her type2 diabetes with tablets for 13 years.

She arrived in Australia in 1992 with her husband and three sons as refugees from Eritrea. Five years later, she was diagnosed with diabetes.

"From my own experience, I know how hard it is to live with diabetes. In the beginning, my health went down and I didn't understand what was happening."

The university graduate learnt to manage the disease, but says it is much harder for many other new arrivals. "What about those who can't read or write?"

Dr Sheikh-Eldin, 55, believes many refugees get type2 diabetes because they change their diet after arriving in Australia (eating much more sugar and fat) and develop a lazier lifestyle. "Even eating one spoon of sugar a day is a big problem. Having everything that is wanted is a big problem for adults as well as children."

She urged health organisations and representatives of all levels of government to involve emerging communities in finding solutions to the epidemic.