NCD Policy Lab

29/04/2026

A few months ago, the hackathon and brought together health professionals, students, innovators, experts, and changemakers to tackle one urgent challenge: improving equity in Noncommunicable disease care and access 🔵

What started as ideas quickly turned into concrete solutions.
But what happened next?

🎥 In this video, challenge owners look back on their experience and share how their solutions have evolved since the hackathon.

Curious to see where these ideas are now? Press play

👉 https://youtu.be/u2OLfBgrCgA?si=QpBPmKtxe3Ldmxv2



Université de Genève, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève, Geneva Digital Health Hub (gdhub), ONG Santé Diabète, NCD Alliance, International Committee of the Red Cross, Médecins Sans Frontières / MSF, Centre d'Expertise et de Recherche en Télémedecine et E_Santé Mali, DigiS@nté Mali, Faculté de Médecine et d'odonto-stomatologie FMOS Bamako-Mali

21/04/2026

Turning ideas into impact starts with the right skills.

Kudos to our partner HPACfor this hands-on training 👏
Equipping researchers with practical tools in project development and grant funding is key to strengthening health research and policy in .

21/04/2026

Want to publish your research but you don’t know where to start?

Academic publishing can feel opaque, from choosing the right journal to navigating peer review and revisions. This practical webinar takes you behind the scenes of academic publishing and shows, step by step, how a scientific paper moves from to 📝

In this session, Prof. David Beran demystifies the publishing process and shares clear, actionable guidance for researchers.

What you will learn:
⚪️ How academic journals and the publishing ecosystem really work
⚪️ How to use PubMed and Google Scholar effectively
⚪️ How to choose the right article type and journal
⚪️ How to structure and write your paper, step by step
⚪️ What happens during submission and peer review
⚪️ How to approach revisions, rejection, and AI tools responsibly

Whether you are an early-career researcher or looking to refine your publication strategy, this webinar will help you navigate the process with greater clarity and confidence.

▶️ https://ncdpolicylab.org/activities/trainings/mastering-academic-writing-from-idea-to-publication-1

07/04/2026

02/04/2026

Discover how the writing brought together researchers to advance academic research through focused writing and peer exchange ✍️

Kudos to our partner CRONICAS - Centro de Excelencia en Enfermedades Crónicas and all participants for creating such a dynamic and inspiring space ✨

02/04/2026

💊 Access to medicines is not only a HEALTH ISSUE

It reflects how economic incentives, market structures and policy choices interact to shape access to treatment, and under what conditions.

These reflections build on discussions from a roundtable co-organised with Medicus Mundi Switzerland - Health for all in autumn 2025, which explored how commercial determinants affect access to medicines, including for essential ones such as .

Recurring challenges include price variability, limited suppliers and unequal access across populations. But beyond these symptoms lies a broader question: how are current systems designed, and who do they ultimately serve?

📄 Further insights from the discussion: https://ncdpolicylab.org/activities/workshops/commercial-determinants-of-health-and-inequality-in-access-to-medicines

31/03/2026

What makes patient education work in type 1 diabetes? We’re excited to share a new report on patient education in type 1 diabetes! 💙

Drawing on 50 World Diabetes Foundation-supported projects across 37 countries in low- and middle-income countries, our report highlights a clear reality: there is no one-size-fits-all model, but there are principles that drive impact.
Strengthening health systems, combining clinical and community approaches, and addressing gaps across populations are key to making education more effective, inclusive, and sustainable.

📄 Full report accessible here:https://world-diabetes-foundation.euwest01.umbraco.io/media/iudpggoa/t1d-patient-education-lessons-learnt.pdf

----
This report is borne out of a collaboration between the Université de Genève(Jessica Hanae Zafra-Tanaka, David Beran) and the World Diabetes Foundation (Louise Stanton), as part of the Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology Commission on Type 1 Diabetes .

The Commission is supported by Breakthrough T1D and the World Diabetes Foundation, with coordination from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.

26/03/2026

🧭 Most of the jouney of a person with type 1 diabetes takes place outside the health system

Developed through the expert engagement "Designing the ideal health system for the management of type 1 diabetes" held in June last year, within the framework of the Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology Commission on Type 1 Diabetes ( ) and supported by the World Diabetes Foundation, this journey map highlights a key insight: living with type 1 diabetes is shaped as much by everyday life as by clinical care.

The discussions identified multiple contact points with the health system that influence the journey, through both elements such as insulin, delivery devices and monitoring, and elements including education and psychosocial support, shaped by human interactions and individual needs.

As needs evolve over time, so must the support provided, not only within healthcare systems, but also across families, communities and the wider society in which people live.

Explore the full expert engagement report: https://ncdpolicylab.org/projects/the-lancet-diabetes-endocrinology-commission-on-type-1-diabetes

💬 What implications do these insights have for supporting the type 1 diabetes journey?

***

The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology Commission on Type 1 Diabetes receives funding from World Diabetes Foundation and Breakthrough T1D , as well as overall coordination support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.

03/03/2026

More than 100,000 people in 🇨🇭 depend on insulin every day.
Yet global market shifts and supply vulnerabilities are reshaping the security of this life-saving medicine.

At the end of 2025, the NCD Policy Lab reported that insulin shortages and stock-outs are occurring across all regions and income levels.

So what’s next?
This new policy brief focuses on Switzerland, to show that in 2026, access to cannot be taken for granted, even in high-income settings.This isn’t meant to be a perfect document, and that’s exactly the point.
It’s shared to
➡️ Start a conversation
➡️ Invite your perspectives and
➡️ Offer a resource the diabetes community can adapt, challenge, and build on

Swap Switzerland for your country.
Reuse the arguments.
Update the data.
Make it yours.

📄 Read the policy brief:
https://ncdpolicylab.org/resources/policy-briefs/access-to-insulin-no-longer-just-an-issue-for-low-and-middle-income-countries-should-switzerland-be-worried

24/02/2026

📢 NEW! Resources now available in additional languages

As requested, two key resources addressing global insulin access are now accessible in Spanish 🇪🇸 , French 🇫🇷 , and Russian 🇷🇺 :
⚪Documenting global Insulin Shortages and Stockouts 2023-2025: Comprehensive overview using various data sources
⚪Sources of insulin, oral medicines, and medical devices for diabetes for LMICs

Because advancing access to insulin requires accessible evidence.
🔗 Available now at https://ncdpolicylab.org/resources/factsheets

A sincere thank you to our partners for contributing to the development and translation of these resources across languages.
HPAC, CRONICAS - Centro de Excelencia en Enfermedades Crónicas, ONG Santé Diabète

17/02/2026

🔔 Just 4 days to go!

Have you completed the NCD Policy Lab yet?
It only takes a few minutes, but your input can make a lasting difference.

🔗 Access the survey: https://unige.jotform.com/260252782352960
*this survey is anonymous and will only be used for monitoring and evaluation purposes*

Deadline: 20th February

Make your voice count before the impact survey closes! Thank you for your support✨