Your Excellency Minister Nicolai Wammen,
Your Excellency Minister Ebrahim Patel,
Novo Nordisk Corporate Vice President Katrine DiBona,
Excellencies, distinguished guests, dear colleagues and friends,
Good afternoon to all of you, and it's such a great honour to be here with you today.
I thank Your Excellency Prime Minister Frederiksen and Minister Patel for your support and commitment to this very important issue.
Currently, 24 million adults are living with diabetes in Africa, and that figure is projected to more than double to 55 million by 2045.
Insulin is the bedrock of diabetes treatment - it turns a deadly disease into a manageable one.
Yet more than 100 years since the discovery of insulin, one in two people who need insulin for type 2 diabetes do not get it.
Diabetes is on the rise in low- and middle-income countries, but access to insulin has not kept pace with the growing disease burden.
The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated inequalities in the treatment and care of noncommunicable diseases, including diabetes.
The pandemic illustrated the need for locally produced health products in Africa, including vaccines, and including insulin.
This is a key priority for WHO.
This event therefore marks a significant milestone in our collective work to make diabetes treatment and care accessible to those who need it the most, in Africa and around the world.
At the World Health Assembly last year, countries committed to new targets on diabetes, including seeing 80% of people with diabetes diagnosed by 2030, and 80% of those diagnosed having good control of glycaemia.
We can only reach these ambitious targets together - governments, WHO and the private sector working together for a common cause.
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That's why two years ago, we launched the WHO Global Diabetes Compact, bringing together all partners to expand access to comprehensive, affordable and quality prevention, treatment and care.
As part of the compact, WHO works with insulin manufacturers to secure commitments and contributions, like the one that is being announced today.
I thank Novo Nordisk and Aspen Pharmacare your commitment to expand access to affordable human insulin in Africa.
Quite simply, this agreement will save lives.
Let me leave you with three priorities:
First, I urge our partners in the private sector to continue working with WHO to expand access to insulin and local manufacturing in Africa.
Second, I urge governments to scale up the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diabetes, especially at the primary health care level, as part of your journey towards universal health coverage.
And third, I urge all countries and partners, in Africa and beyond, to join the Global Diabetes Compact.
We can only meet the common threat of diabetes with a common resolve.
Sir Frederick Banting, who won the Nobel Prize for his co-discovery of insulin, said "Insulin does not belong to me. It belongs to the world.
Our work today is huge first step. Let's continue this journey together, with urgency, and we can make insulin available for all.
I thank you.
