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By 2023, we will be able to demonstrate a substantial increase in access to insulin and meaningful improvements in quality of care for people with diabetes living in humanitarian crises.

OBJECTIVE 1. Increase the global health profile of diabetes, and consciousness of access to insulin as a humanitarian priority, through unified and strengthened advocacy

  • Produce a high-level World Health Assembly declaration that supports the provision of insulin to all those in need in humanitarian settings
  • Strengthen unified advocacy campaigns and global awareness, particularly among governments and donors, to ensure access to insulin and inclusion of diabetes care in humanitarian responses
  • Improve processes for dissemination of findings and publications about diabetes care and prevention in humanitarian crises to all audiences, such as via social media, websites, and news releases
  • Advocate for the use of all available tools to reduce prices of essential medicines and diagnostics

OBJECTIVE 2. Improve access to insulin and other essential medicines and diagnostics for glycemic and cardiovascular risk reduction in humanitarian crises

  • Routinely include essential medications and diagnostics for diabetes in humanitarian response systems, with insulin as an immediate priority
  • Advocate for transparent procurement and prices for insulin used in humanitarian settings, reflecting the known cost of production
  • Advocate for the pre-qualification of biosimilar insulins to introduce further market competition and aim for price reductions
  • Improve availability, affordability, coverage, quality, and field suitability of diagnostic equipment for diabetes and hypertension in humanitarian settings
  • Develop a consensus statement and identify needs for further research on insulin thermostability, to inform international guidelines on the storage of insulin and blood glucose test strips in humanitarian settings

OBJECTIVE 3. Establish a unified set of clinical and operational guidelines for diabetes in humanitarian crises

  • Develop and test evidence-based clinical guidance and educational materials on diabetes care in humanitarian crises
  • Develop and test different cost-effective models of care that take local health systems and food supplies into consideration and develop differentiated emergency preparedness plans
  • Develop new tools and support innovation around treatment, monitoring and education to facilitate care and coordination between humanitarian organizations
  • Clarify the potential role of insulin analogues in humanitarian settings

OBJECTIVE 4. Generate an evidence base to support advocacy, through improved data and surveillance

  • Systematically assess current data collection processes to form a baseline understanding of context, capacity, needs, and barriers as regards collection of diabetes related indicators
  • Develop and implement standardized indicators of the prevalence of diabetes, access to care, patient burden and patient-centered outcomes in humanitarian crises for program monitoring and evaluation, and to make these data available to stakeholders
  • Expand the diversity of qualitative and quantitative studies of diabetes in humanitarian crises across regions, types of crises and crisis stages
  • Include crisis-affected populations in studies of the economic and social implications of diabetes in host countries
  • Estimate the cost of diabetes care in humanitarian crises incurred by the health system and out-of-pocket expenditures, and the cost of inaction
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