Improving diabetes outcomes for all, a hundred years on from the discovery of insulin

Improving diabetes outcomes for all, a hundred years on from the discovery of insulin: report of the Global Diabetes Summit

The Global Diabetes Summit, co-hosted by the World Health Organization and the Government of Canada, with the support of the University of Toronto, brought together governments, donors, non-governmental organizations, and people with lived experience of diabetes. The goals of the event, held on 14 April 2021, were to raise awareness of diabetes as a global health issue and to address the need to scale-up prevention and treatment as part of primary health care and universal health coverage. WHO’s Global Diabetes Compact, an initiative aiming to reduce the risk of diabetes and to ensure that all people who are diagnosed with diabetes have access to equitable, comprehensive, affordable, and quality management, was launched during the event.

This report summarizes the main topics covered and includes the program of the event.

In 1921, insulin was co-discovered by Canadian researchers at the University of Toronto. This marked a revolutionary and life-saving step in transforming diabetes from a death sentence for people living with type 1 diabetes to a manageable disease, thereby saving millions of lives worldwide.

In 2021, the world celebrated the 100th anniversary of the discovery of insulin, a discovery that has changed the lives of millions of people.

To mark the centenary of the discovery of insulin, and with the support of the University of Toronto, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Government of Canada co-hosted a Global Diabetes Summit on 14 April 2021. The Summit aimed to raise awareness of diabetes as a global challenge, and to highlight what is being done — and what more needs to be done — to scale-up prevention and treatment efforts within primary health care systems, and across diabetes care services, in a way that is affordable to all.

Participating in the Summit were four Heads of State, seven Ministers of Health, as well as United Nations organizations, people with lived experience of diabetes, civil society advocates, and representatives of the private sector.

The format of the Global Diabetes Summit had been co-designed during an informal consultation for people living with diabetes, in March 2021, which included more than 100 participants. Through these discussions, people affected by diabetes shared their unique insights and perspectives to:

• define key policy, research, and narrative issues of concern for discussion at the Summit;
• identify and participants and;
• explain how taking on board the views of people with lived experiences can strengthen interventions for diabetes care.

The highlight of the Summit was the launch of the WHO Global Diabetes Compact.