This section showcases the impactful projects in which the NCD Policy Lab is implicated. Through a strategic blend of research, advocacy, and long-term collaboration with our partners, the projects target key issues on improving access to medicines and technologies for NCDs. Explore the featured projects below to discover how the NCD Policy Lab is implicated in shaping and drive positive change towards the adoption of evidence-based policies for improving access to NCD care, medicines, and technologies.
Projects
To mark World Diabetes Day on 14 November 2023, The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology is launching an initiative to stimulate research into inequalities in access to treatment for type 1 diabetes. The Commission has as its aim to provide the global health community, national policy makers, local diabetes key opinion leaders and clinicians, diabetes associations and advocates, as well as funders, with a clear road map for the future related to Type 1 Diabetes.
Despite a century of lessons learned in the provision of type 1 diabetes care, a more comprehensive and person centred global plan is still needed to address both the societal and health system needs for people with type 1 diabetes across different life periods, to address existing and future inequities, and to ensure that innovation continues to improve the lives of people with type 1 diabetes globally.
Access to insulin remains highly unequal
This approach needs to provide the global health community, national policy makers, local diabetes key opinion leaders and clinicians, diabetes associations and advocates, as well as funders, a clear road map for the future. With this in mind, a Commission on type 1 diabetes was launched.
The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology Commission on Type 1 Diabetes receives funding from Breakthrough T1D and the World Diabetes Foundation, as well as overall coordination support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.
T1D International Meeting: A global plan to enhance the quality of life and care for people with T1D
Side event discussing a comprehensive and pragmatic global plan to improve the quality of life and care of people with T1D, held during the pre-conference day of the 'Type 1 Diabetes – Advancing a Global Road Map for Improved and Integrated Care in Low-Resource Settings' international meeting on 4 February 2025.
Learn more about the Type 1 Diabetes International Meeting
Expert engagements
As part of this Commission, and with the support of the World Diabetes Foundation, expert engagements were developed as an innovative approach to inform the Commission’s work. These consultations brought together a diverse range of expertises, perspectives and people living with type 1 diabetes, to combine current evidence with lived experience. By creating a structured space for dialogue, they enabled a deeper understanding of the type 1 diabetes journey and helped identify practical insights to inform the design of more responsive health systems.
Designing the ideal health system for the management of type 1 diabetes
Explore the key insights from this expert engagement, which identified key elements that health systems should provide to better support people living with type 1 diabetes across their journey.
REPORT AVAILABLE BELOW
Expert mapping of life changes in type 1 diabetes and of different transitions
This expert engagement aimed to identify key life events and transitions that may be overlooked, and to deepen understanding of how people living with type 1 diabetes interact with healthcare systems and society across the life course. By applying a life course approach, the discussions explored how needs evolve over time and across different contexts, including low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The insights generated contribute to strengthening the life course framework guiding the Commission’s work and to informing strategies that better align healthcare and societal responses with the lived experience of type 1 diabetes.
Report from this expert engagement will be available soon
Designing the idea data environment for type 1 diabetes
Building on the work of the DIAMOND 2A Collaboration, this expert engagement brought together a range of stakeholders to advance thinking on data systems for type 1 diabetes. The collaboration has included online meetings, stakeholder exchanges, presentations at international conferences, and webinars to share experiences and emerging practices. This expert consultation focused on presenting case studies, identifying shared lessons, and exploring key elements identified during previous discussions, to develop an effective and responsive data environment for type 1 diabetes.
Report from this expert engagement will be available soon
In parallel, efforts to advance the development of the DIAMOND 2A Collaboration are ongoing. Report from this expert engagement available soon.
About: Explore our Chronic Disease Toolbox, a hub of resources to improve the management of non-communicable diseases in low-and middle income countries. It allows, for example, healthcare professionals, people living with a chronic disease, relatives and caregivers, to freely access academic, clinical and informative resources developed by the Division of Tropical & Humanitarian Medicine (at the Geneva University Hospitals & University of Geneva).
DIAMOND2-Action is a collaborative network which aims to promote and provide tools, data and knowledge on the epidemiology, health system use, access to insulin, and health in type 1 diabetes.
Want to be part of the conversation? Join the DIAMOND 2A network by completing this short survey
DIAMOND 2A WEBINAR SERIES
The DIAMOND 2A Webinar Series “Data and Type 1 Diabetes: Lessons and Experiences” brought together 18 leading experts from 5 worldwide regions to explore how collecting data is transforming care for people living with type 1 diabetes. From regional spotlights in Latin America, Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, South and Central Asia, to cross-cutting lessons and experiences, the series offers valuable knowledge and insights. Each session is now available below and organised by region and speakers.
Start with this 5-minute highlight video below for a snapshot of the key insights.
SPOTLIGHT ON EUROPE
SCOTLAND - Data and type 1 diabetes: lessons and experiences from Scotland (Sarah Wild). WATCH THE VIDEO
FINLAND - The Finish perspective (Jaakko Tuomilehto). WATCH THE VIDEO
DENMARK - The Danish perspective (Anders Green). WATCH THE VIDEO
SPOTLIGHT ON INDIA
INDIA -
Data on Type 1 DM. Experiences and challenges, India (AUTHORS). WATCH THE VIDEO
Type 1 Diabetes registry in City of Coimbatore, India (Krishnan Swaminathan). WATCH THE VIDEO
Type 1 Diabetes registry in Chennai, city in South India (Prashanth Mani). WATCH THE VIDEO
SPOTLIGHT ON SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
UGANDA - Establishing a National Type 1 Diabetes Program in a low resource setting, Uganda (Silver Bahendeka). WATCH THE VIDEO
MALI - Type 1 Diabetes in Mali: strengthening the health system to improve data gathering (Stéphane Besançon). WATCH THE VIDEO
TANZANIA - Reflections and concluding thoughts, Tanzania (Kaushik Ramaiya). WATCH THE VIDEO
SPOTLIGHT ON LATIN AMERICA
BRAZIL - The Porto Alegre Diabetes Registry, Perspectives for a type 1 suveillance, Brazil (Maria Inês Schmidt & Bruce B. Duncan). WATCH THE VIDEO
PERU - Lessons and experiences, Peru (Segundo Seclen Santiseban). WATCH THE VIDEO
COLOMBIA - Building a Type 1 Diabetes Registry in a Fragmented Health System, Colombia (Paula Andrea Diaz Valencia). WATCH THE VIDEO
EXPERIENCES FROM PAKISTAN, NORTH MACEDONIA & ITALY
RN MACEDONIA - Diabetes in RN Macedonia, Epidemiology of Type 1 Diabetes (Ivica Smokovski). WATCH THE VIDEO
ITALY - Lessons and experiences, Italy (Benedetta Armocida). WATCH THE VIDEO
PAKISTAN - Pakistan Perspectives (Abdul Basit). WATCH THE VIDEO
EXPERIENCES FROM KYRGYZSTAN AND LIFE FOR A CHILD
KYRGYZ REPUBLIC - Diabetes-related data collection in the Kyrgyz Republic: experience and lessons learnt (Natalia Dobrynina). WATCH THE VIDEO
LIFE FOR A CHILD - T1D Epidemiology: Life for a Child's experience (Graham Ogle). WATCH THE VIDEO
DIAMOND 2A is a partnership that, based on collaborative network activities, will:
- Promote epidemiological, public health, health utilization and health economics research in type 1 diabetes.
- Support capacity-building for epidemiological, public health and multi-disciplinary health services research.
- Provide relevant information for communication with decision-makers to support prioritization and policymaking concerning the diagnosis, monitoring, and management of type 1 diabetes globally and locally.
- Supply key epidemiological and healthcare data for patient organizations and people with type 1 diabetes.