From insulin to glucose self-monitoring devices: ramping up access along the diabetes continuum of care

The Access to Medicine Foundation will host an all-day workshop, or ‘Amsterdam Session’, bringing together experts from industry, public sector partners, and global health organisations to discuss practices and solutions for improving access to essential health commodities for insulin-dependent diabetic patients in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).  

The session will explore a range of potential strategies, identify priority areas for action, and provide participants with the opportunity to share existing access approaches and cross-industry partnerships to drive access across the continuum of care, with the goal of improving diabetes care for all.  

This event is invitation-only and will be held under the Chatham House Rule. 

Agenda  

The session will begin with an introductory presentation to provide context for the event. Following this, three moderated discussions will explore key topics related to access to health commodities essential for the diabetes continuum of care. The discussions will feature opening remarks from topic experts and will provide a forum for participants to engage with the latest research, knowledge, and best practices.  

Discussion 1: ‘Implementing access strategies and integrated business models for essential health products for people living with diabetes’ 

This moderated discussion will draw on the experiences and learnings of insulin and device manufacturing companies to explore how to develop and implement effective access strategies and access-oriented business models for essential health products in LMICs. The discussion will also consider how strategies successfully pursued by insulin manufacturers can be translated and adapted by device manufacturers as strategies to expand access to their products in LMICs.    

Discussion 2: ‘Addressing affordability of diabetes self-monitoring devices in LMICs’   

This moderated discussion will examine concrete examples of how glucose-monitoring device manufacturers, insulin manufacturing companies, and their partners are working together to address the affordability of diabetes self-monitoring devices in LMICs. The discussion will consider the potential for scaling up these initiatives to reach more patients in the future, as well as the challenges that need to be overcome to achieve this goal. 

Discussion 3: ‘Expanding access to essential treatment and diabetes monitoring devices beyond affordability’   

This moderated discussion will explore strategies and practical examples implemented by industry and global health stakeholders to overcome barriers beyond affordability in expanding access to essential treatment and diabetes monitoring devices. The discussion will focus on how these strategies can be scaled up and replicated to achieve access to essential health products for insulin-dependent diabetic patients in LMICs. 

The session will conclude with a summary of key themes, takeaways, and lessons learned from the discussions, followed by a round of commitments. 

Cross-sector programme

Learn more about our Diabetes care programme

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The rapidly-growing need for sustainable access to diabetes care in low- and middle-Income countries 

Now more than ever, people all over the world – but especially people living in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) – need sustainable access to diabetes care. More than 500 million people currently have diabetes, and the number of cases is surging worldwide, with the figure expected to reach 783 million by 2045. Most of the burden of diabetes is borne by LMICs, home to more than three of every four adults with the condition.  

People living with diabetes require regular, reliable and affordable access to a range of essential medicines and other health products to stay healthy, and – in many cases – to stay alive. For example, insulin is critical for survival for people living with type 1 diabetes and many with type 2. But access to insulin alone is not enough. Healthcare products, including glucose monitoring devices and associated commodities, are critical to ensure safe administration of insulin and allow for appropriate self-monitoring of the disease. Yet, insulin and glucose monitoring devices remain out of reach for many of those who need them – especially for people living in the poorest countries.  

To move forward in bridging persistent gaps in access to diabetes care, it is crucial to increase understanding of how glucose self-monitoring devices and insulin manufacturers can collaborate as well as how existing access approaches can complement each other to drive access across the continuum of care. Identifying good industry practices, such as key cross-industry partnerships that can be replicated, is also essential for improving the availability and affordability of health products for insulin-dependent diabetes patients in LMICs. Finally, it is important to identify priority areas for action for companies and highlight opportunities for collaboration between monitoring devices and insulin manufacturers to achieve the goal of improving diabetes care for all. 

About the Amsterdam Sessions  

Through moderated workshops and panel discussions, the Foundation provides space for people working with and within the healthcare ecosystem to come together and discuss how to expand access to essential health products in LMICs. The Foundation has organised Amsterdam Sessions and other workshops on topics including, access to high-quality generic medicines, shortages and stockouts of lifesaving products, access to medical oxygen and lessons learned from COVID-19.