In March 2026, Jaipur, India, hosted something unprecedented: the first global gathering dedicated to ending diabetes stigma and beginning to build solutions.
The inaugural Global Summit to End Diabetes Stigma welcomed 190 participants from 35 countries. More than half were living with diabetes themselves. They came not simply to describe the problem, but to chart a path toward meaningful, lasting change.
Nothing About Us Without Us—in Practice
The Summit was built around a simple but powerful principle: #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs.
That’s not a slogan. It shaped every aspect of the event.
The 16-member Steering Committee represented 10 countries, with 11 members bringing lived experience of diabetes. On the Summit’s opening day, participants calculated that the room represented more than 1,300 cumulative years of lived and loved experience with diabetes—a powerful reminder that the people most affected by diabetes stigma are also best equipped to help solve it.
Ensuring diverse voices were present was equally important. Eighty-five delegates attended through full #dedoc° travel scholarships made possible by Breakthrough T1D and several industry sponsors. Nearly nine in ten scholarship recipients had lived experience of diabetes, and more than 60% came from low- and middle-income countries. For many, it was their first international conference. For some, it was their first time traveling internationally.
Guiding conversations throughout the event was Renza Scibilia, Breakthrough T1D’s Senior Director for Global Responsibility and one of the Summit’s emcees. A longtime advocate for the Language Matters movement, she helped facilitate discussions rooted in both lived expertise and real life with T1D.
From Stories to Solutions
“We weren’t talking about people with diabetes—we were talking as people with diabetes.”
-Renza Scibilia
Across two days, participants gave voice to the many ways diabetes stigma shows up in everyday life. They spoke about being blamed for a diagnosis they did not cause. About language that diminishes rather than empowers. About navigating healthcare systems, workplaces, schools, and communities where a medical condition is too often misunderstood as a personal failing.
These experiences are far from isolated. According to research published in The Lancet, four in five people living with diabetes report experiencing stigma, and one in three report discrimination.
What made this Summit different was what happened next. The Summit began with stories. It ended with evidence, commitments, and a shared commitment to creating a roadmap for action.
Together, participants explored opportunities to improve language, strengthen healthcare, influence public awareness campaigns, advance policy, and elevate diabetes stigma within international human rights frameworks.
The Summit concluded with an agreement to turn ideas into commitments, reinforcing that meaningful progress depends not only on conversation, but on sustained action.
A Beginning, Not a Conclusion
The Global Summit represented the next step: from commitment to coordinated action.
No single meeting can end diabetes stigma.
But the Global Summit marked an important turning point.
A global roadmap for action is now being co-designed, informed by the evidence shared in Jaipur and the commitments participants made together. The work will continue across countries, organizations, and communities, building on the momentum created by this first gathering.
For Breakthrough T1D, the Summit reinforced a belief that guides our work around the world: the most meaningful progress on access, equity, and care happens when people with lived experience are not simply represented—they are trusted to lead.
The conversations in Jaipur have ended.
The movement they strengthened is only beginning.
For more information, including key outcomes and ongoing initiatives, visit the End Diabetes Stigma website.
For more information about Breakthrough T1D’s global initiatives, visit Our Global Presence and ALIGN-T1D.
