DDEA Global Health Podcast

Episode 3: WHO Global Diabetes Compact

Danish Diabetes and Endocrine Academy Season 1 Episode 3

The WHO Global Diabetes Compact represents a significant effort to improve diabetes care worldwide, but turning its bold commitments into tangible change remains a complex challenge. How can governments, NGOs, and private sector partners work together to make universal insulin access a reality? What are the barriers, and how can they be overcome?

Key Topics Discussed:

✔ The vision and goals of the WHO Global Diabetes Compact
 ✔ 100% insulin access by 2030 – a realistic goal or an overly ambitious target?
 ✔ The barriers to implementation in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)
 ✔ The role of governments, global organisations, and pharmaceutical companies in ensuring success
 ✔ Sustainable funding vs. dependency on short-term donor contributions
 ✔ Accountability mechanisms—how to ensure commitments lead to real-world progress
 ✔ Lessons from other global health initiatives—what works and what does not
 ✔ The balance between ambition and reality in achieving global diabetes care equity

Hosts:

  • Gretchen Repasky, Education and Networking Manager, Danish Diabetes and Endocrine Academy, Denmark
  • Omar Silverman, Senior Researcher at Steno Diabetes Center Aarhus, Denmark

Guest: Sanjana Marpadga; Technical Officer, Diabetes at World Health Organization, Global Diabetes Compact

Find more resources at:

DDEA
World Diabetes Foundation

WHO Global Diabetes Compact

Credits and Contact Information:

Producer and publisher: Danish Diabetes and Endocrine Academy (www.ddeacademy.dk)

Audio editor: Mediehuset Periskop

This podcast was produced in connection with the international meeting Type 1 Diabetes, Advancing a Global Roadmap for Improved and Integrated Care in Low-Resource Settings, held in early February 2025 in Copenhagen, Denmark. This meeting was organised and hosted by the World Diabetes Foundation, the Danish Diabetes and Endocrine Academy, the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Geneva, and the East African Diabetes Study Group.