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.