T1International works all over the world to champion the rights of people with type 1 diabetes in their fight for access to affordable medicine. In many countries insulin and essential supplies are unavailable, unaffordable or both. Globally, people are being forced pay up to 80% of their monthly income for the medicine they need. In Sierra Leone the average life expectancy of a child diagnosed with type 1 is just 12 months. A young man in the USA recently died because he was $50 short on a GoFundMe campaign for insulin. Insulin costs very little to produce, but three companies dominate 90% of the global market, and prices have risen 290% in the past decade.

T1International is unlike any diabetes charity that exists. Almost every other diabetes non-profit, accepts money from pharmaceutical companies, which we do not. We are unwilling to compromise our ability to speak out and push for change. We believe strongly that community empowerment leads to long-term change. Donations of insulin and supplies can be life prolonging, but that is not a long-term solution. At T1International, we are fighting for a world where no one has to rely on donated supplies or wait and fear whether their next bottle of insulin will be supplied to them. 

We have already made a huge impact with little income. The FSI awarded T1International a ‘Small Charity Big Impact Award’ this year. To date, our advocacy resources have been downloaded hundreds of times and used by our partners around the world, and our Type 1 Diabetes Access Charter is available in ten languages. We are training Global Advocate volunteers in 10 different countries to ensure they can confidently utilize the T1International Advocacy toolkit resource, which is currently available in three languages. We have led in-person demonstrations and carried out the first ever diabetes advocacy training in Uganda. With no budget, we completed the largest survey of out-of-pocket type 1 diabetes costs in the world and created a pioneering global type 1 diabetes map.