Recognizing the urgent need to find ways to prioritize the diagnosis, treatment and care of people with diabetes, WHO/Europe is organizing this high-level technical summit together with the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) Europe.
Despite innovation in treatment and technology, and increasing political momentum to address diabetes, health outcomes for people living with diabetes have not improved. Diabetes prevalence in the WHO European Region continues to rise alarmingly, and half of the people living with diabetes do not meet their treatment targets, despite the many treatment options available. One third of people living with diabetes remain undiagnosed.
In the last few years, many significant commitments have been made to tackle the challenges of diabetes prevention and care, but they have been overshadowed by the perfect storm or “permacrisis” which countries have faced – pandemic, war, earthquakes, population displacement, hollowing out of health systems, erosion of trust in politicians and national authorities, rising commercial determinants, poverty and inequality.
The summit will bring together experts from WHO and IDF Europe with representatives of national health authorities and the European Union (EU) to discuss making diabetes a priority in the permacrisis era, and accelerate action. Participants will include civil society, health workers and people living with diabetes. Together they will recall existing United Nations, WHO, EU and other relevant commitments on diabetes, identify linkages and opportunities for action, and discuss next steps.
The programme will include sessions on the detection and diagnosis of diabetes; quality of care, including more people-centred diabetes care and preventing complications; and equal access to the right quality treatment. Participants will review the headway being made toward goals such as the global coverage targets for diabetes, and will present examples of evidence-based interventions including WHO “best buys” for accelerating progress.
The aim of the summit is also to empower and engage people living with diabetes to drive recommendations and outcomes that reflect their needs and preferences. A signed statement will be produced to serve as an advocacy tool and a call to action.
The language of the meeting is English with translation into Russian. The meeting is by invitation only and will take place in a hybrid format.