World unites in India at the landmark Global Summit to End Diabetes Stigma

 Next week, advocates, experts, and people from every region of the world will come together in India for the inaugural Global Summit to End Diabetes Stigma. 

Presented by the Australian Centre for Behavioural Research in Diabetes (ACBRD), in collaboration with numerous Partners and Sponsors, this landmark gathering aims to build on a global movement to bring an end to diabetes stigma and discrimination. 

Professor Jane Speight, the Foundation Director of the ACBRD, a partnership between Diabetes Victoria and Deakin University, and Co-Lead of the Summit explains the need for this world-first event. 

“Four in five people living with diabetes report experiences of stigma. Stigma leads to social isolation, discrimination, and barriers to accessing quality medical care, which can negatively affect both physical and mental wellbeing,” she said. 

“We are escalating action to end diabetes stigma on a global scale. This is essential for improving both the health and quality of life of millions of people living with diabetes around the world”. 

The Summit will serve as a powerful platform for sharing experiences, innovative and impactful solutions. It will unite voices from lived experience, advocacy, research, clinical practice, and industry across diverse backgrounds, cultures, and communities. This event builds on the momentum of a global movement and the 2023 launch of the Pledge to end diabetes stigma, which has already united thousands of people and hundreds of organisations across 119 countries. 

The Summit comes at a time when global debate and conflict often highlight the divisions between communities and nations. In contrast, the Summit aims to demonstrate the power of collaboration and shared purpose. 

“By coming together across more than 30 countries, the Summit delegates amplify the call for compassion, access to care, and dignity for all living with diabetes,” Professor Speight said. 

Dr Elizabeth Holmes-Truscott, Deputy Director of the ACBRD, and Co-Lead of the Summit, shares her perspective: ‘As a woman who experienced diabetes in pregnancy, and as someone who works closely with and cares deeply about people living with diabetes, this work is important to me both professionally and personally”. 

“Through my lived experience, research and conversations with people living with diabetes around the world, I have learned how powerful it is when people feel safe to share their experiences. Their stories show how stigma can undermine confidence, silence people’s voices, and limit people’s access to quality care, and participate fully in everyday life,” Dr Holmes-Truscott said. 

“No one living with diabetes should be made to feel shame or blame because of their condition. Ending stigma is essential to creating more supportive healthcare systems and communities.” 

Importantly, the Summit will shape a global roadmap based on the insights and learnings shared throughout the event. This includes identifying practical actions—spanning healthcare, research, policy and public awareness—to drive meaningful change. 

“Whether you are in Jaipur next week or elsewhere around the world, we encourage everyone to join the global movement, take the Pledge and drive lasting change to create a world free from diabetes stigma and discrimination,” said Professor Speight. 

Read the full media release here.

Media Contact 

Annette Ripper on M: 0400772722 or E: annetteg.ripper@gmail.com 

or 

Professor Jane Speight, E: jspeight@acbrd.org.au