World Diabetes Foundation

14/10/2026

With just one month to World Diabetes Day, the Global Diabetes Walk is gaining momentum. 👣

140 walks have already been registered as part of this year's campaign. From communities around the world to our own colleagues at the World Diabetes Foundation, people are getting ready to walk for Early Action on Diabetes.

Every walk is an opportunity to bring people together, start conversations about diabetes, and highlight the importance of early detection, risk reduction and timely care.

There is still time to organise a walk in your school, workplace, healthcare organisation or community – whether it is a small team or a larger public event.

Organise your walk and join the movement ➡️ https://buff.ly/IuADy5S

07/10/2026

Our latest newsletter is out — exploring what it takes to create change that lasts.

This edition looks at how long-term partnerships in India have helped strengthen diabetes prevention and care, and what we have learned about building sustainability into health systems.

We also share:

• An update from Uzbekistan, where donor support is helping extend diabetes camps and training for children, families, teachers and health workers
• More stories and updates from across WDF’s work

Read the latest edition of the WDF newsletter ➡️

Nearly 25 years ago, when the World Diabetes Foundation was founded, diabetes was quietly reshaping lives and communities across India. Since then, WDF-supported initiatives have helped expand prevention efforts, strengthen access to care, and elevate diabetes on the public health agenda.

30/09/2026

In India, locally led ideas have grown and transformed diabetes care across the county, from eye and foot care to maternal health, workplace screening, and community-based prevention.

During a recent visit, the World Diabetes Foundation Board met the health workers, partners, and community members carrying this work forward.

Thank you to WHO India, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare India, Piramal swasthya, Last MileCare, and Jhpiego, and to our many other partners driving change in India.

Read the full story: https://buff.ly/Gt5boNo

Photo credit: Harsha Vadlamani

The WDF Board visited our partners and projects in India, witnessing how how locally led partnerships have helped diabetes and NCD care move closer to communities and become part of public health systems.

28/09/2026

What does it look like when diabetes screening moves closer to communities?

During a recent visit, our colleague joined the Georgia Red Cross Society / საქართველოს წითელი ჯვრის საზოგადოება in Gori and Marneuli to see a community-based approach to diabetes prevention and early detection in practice.

Trained Red Cross volunteers go door to door to identify people who may be at risk of diabetes and encourage them to attend screening. Mobile units, involving rural doctors and volunteers, then bring blood glucose testing directly into communities. 🧰

Prevention starts even earlier. In schools, teachers who volunteer with the Red Cross are incorporating messages about healthy lifestyles and NCD prevention into their work with students, alongside activities encouraging physical activity. 👟

Together with the Georgia Red Cross Society, WDF is supporting efforts to strengthen community awareness, bring prevention and screening closer to people, and connect those who need further care with appropriate services. 💙

23/09/2026

Building specialist capacity today helps bring care closer to children living with type 1 diabetes.

Across francophone sub-Saharan Africa, WDF is supporting regional training that equips doctors with the specialised knowledge needed to diagnose and care for children with type 1 diabetes. A two-year Master’s degree at Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar and the University of Yaoundé provides specialist training to doctors from across the region. In Chad, for the first time, a doctor has obtained a Master’s degree in paediatric endocrinology. 📖

During a recent visit to Cameroon and Chad, WDF saw this work taking shape, alongside a strong culture of research and collaboration among students - helping build both clinical expertise and professional networks. 👥

The initiative builds on a similar regional training programme in East Africa, now independently anchored at the University of Nairobi, where it continues to train specialists. WDF aims to support the same sustainable outcome in West and Central Africa, strengthening specialist capacity and bringing care closer to the children and families who need it most. 💙

17/09/2026

Digital health is not an end in itself. We believe it is a tool for strengthening health systems, improving access to care and supporting better outcomes for people living with diabetes and other NCDs.

To achieve that, we support solutions that are:
1. Anchored in national systems and strategies— strengthening existing health information infrastructure rather than creating parallel systems.
2. Designed for sustainability — with national ownership, governance and the capacity to maintain solutions beyond the life of a grant.
3. Driven by clinical need — starting with the patient journey and care pathway, not with the technology.
4. Equity-focused— considering whether digital solutions can help reach vulnerable, rural and underserved populations.
5. Evidence-based — assessing whether solutions are feasible, well governed and able to generate reliable, useful data for decision-making.

Above all, technology should make care more connected and effective while reducing the burden on patients and health workers.

In our new video, meet representatives from three countries that participated in the Diabetes Compass project and hear more about how these principles were translated into solutions.

15/09/2026

India was just recognised by WHO SEARO for placing more than 94 million people on protocol-based management for hypertension and diabetes, far exceeding its national target of 75 million by 2025.

Coincidentally, our WDF Board of Directors and colleagues were in India, witnessing firsthand the commitment at every level that has made this achievement possible.

WDF has been present in India since for close to 25 years, and our journey alongside the country reflects the evolution of the response to diabetes and other NCDs. From mobile retinopathy clinics to reaching tribal and other hard-to-reach communities, we've collaborated with dedicated partners to strengthen and connect health systems, and bridge gaps in access to care.

A shared sense of ownership across government, partners, healthcare workers, communities, and people living with diabetes; is helping drive this change. At the same time, digitalisation is helping to strengthen these connections, linking people at risk of or living with diabetes and other NCDs to the broader health system and bringing quality care closer to where people live.

India also shows that addressing NCDs cannot happen in isolation. Prevention and care are increasingly integrated across the life course and across sectors, from healthy pregnancies and schools, to economic and gender empowerment, hard-to-reach communities, and workplaces.

We are proud to have been part of this journey and, even more importantly, to continue learning from India as the country shows what is possible when ambition, ownership, partnership, and innovation come together.

Thank you to Embassy of Denmark in India, WHO India, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare India, Piramal Swasthya, Last Mile Care, and Jhpiego for the insightful visit, and to our many other partners driving change in the country.

Photo credit: Harsha Vadlamani

09/09/2026

How can foundations use more of their capital to support their purpose? 💡

At Fondenes Videnscenter’s annual conference, we contributed to the impact investment track, sharing our take on impact investing to expand prevention and access to care for diabetes and related NCDs in low- and middle-income countries.

The track brought together different perspectives, practical examples and open discussion about the opportunities and dilemmas involved. The three main points were:
1. Impact investing in emerging markets is all about partnership.
2. Impact investing can strengthen local innovation and agency.
3. Capital must match the purpose and context.

For WDF, these considerations guide the development of the Diabetes Investment Accelerator, as we explore mobilising additional capital for NCDs while keeping accessibility, affordability, quality and health outcomes at the centre.

04/09/2026

”I try to be a role model for the other Playmakers and Players.” –Batoul Nemer

In Lebanon, Batoul Nemer is leading by example.

After joining GAME as a teenager, Batoul is now a Zone Manager, mentoring children and young people through sport and health education. By providing free, inclusive spaces where young people can stay active, build confidence and learn healthy habits, she is helping bring NCD awareness, education, and prevention where it is needed the most.

To means creating opportunities for healthier lives. It is also about empowering the next generation to lead change where it matters most.

03/09/2026

Take steps. Take early action. 💙

Every November, the Global Diabetes Walk brings people around the world together to raise diabetes awareness, promote physical activity and inspire action in their communities.

This year Walk organisers who include an Early Action activity will receive a dedicated joint certificate of recognition, acknowledging their contribution to the International Diabetes Federation's World Diabetes Day campaign.

Your Early Action activity could include:
diabetes screening,
diabetes risk assessments,
an education or awareness session,
or another initiative that promotes early detection and prevention.

Find out more on https://globaldiabeteswalk.org/