Pharma programmes critical for diabetes care in LMICs

For POLITICO, Giedrė Peseckytė writes about the Access to Medicine Foundation’s newly released report, which outlines how pharma companies can address critical gaps and scale access to diabetes care for children and young people.

The article highlights findings from the Access to Medicine Foundation's latest report, noting that insulin manufacturers are providing crucial support by supplying a range of products and delivery devices to over half of the 113 low- and middle-income countries analysed. However, these efforts are reaching only a small percentage of children and young people (CYP) in need of type 1 diabetes care.

The report examines 11 initiatives aimed at providing diabetes care for CYP, supported by insulin producers Lilly, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi, and biosimilar manufacturer Biocon through donations of insulin, delivery devices, and financial contributions. While these efforts are valuable, the report stresses that companies must move beyond these temporary models and adopt more sustainable approaches, as donation-based models pose risks to the long-term certainty of an initiative.