Next week, advocates, researchers, clinicians, and people living with diabetes from more than 30 countries will gather in Jaipur, India, for the inaugural Global Summit to End Diabetes Stigma.

This landmark event will bring together global voices, lived experience, and evidence to confront one of the most persistent and overlooked barriers in diabetes: stigma. The Summit will feature more than 150 contributions, including over 100 digital submissions, and will help shape a global roadmap for action.

Canada will play a visible leadership role in that work. Diabetes Action Canada (DAC), a Trailblazer Partner of the Summit, will be represented by more than 12 network members attending and presenting across panels, workshops, film screenings, and digital contributions.

DAC’s presence reflects a distinctly Canadian model of patient-partnered leadership. Funded through CIHR’s Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research and based at University Health Network, DAC works alongside more than 400 patient partners across Canada to co-design research, programs, and tools grounded in lived experience.

DAC members contributed more than 20 accepted abstracts to the Summit, spanning panels, spotlight sessions, workshops, and digital contributions. In advance of the Summit, DAC is also helping host pre-Summit film screenings, including Low and Low Priority, creating space for storytelling, reflection, and dialogue on the realities of diabetes stigma.

DAC’s Research-to-Action Fellowship will also be strongly represented throughout the program. Of the nine fellowship projects developed over the last two years, seven will be presented at the Summit. In addition, the fellowship itself is featured through a digital contribution highlighting it as a model for reducing diabetes stigma through community-led knowledge mobilization.

The Canadian presence at the Summit also extends to national leadership. Member of Parliament The Honourable Sonia Sidhu will be speaking on Day 2 of the Summit. She has played a key role in advancing Canada’s Diabetes Framework and brings an important policy perspective to the global conversation.

Linxi Mytkolli, Director of Patient Engagement at Diabetes Action Canada, serves on the Summit’s international Steering Committee and will emcee the event. Laurie Lepine, Francophone Engagement Coordinator at DAC, is also part of the team supporting the delivery of the Summit.

“As someone living with diabetes, I know stigma is not just a concept or a policy issue. It can shape how you are spoken to, how seriously you are taken, and how safe you feel asking for care or telling the truth about what you need,” said Mytkolli. “What makes this Summit so powerful is that it brings people together not just to name that harm, but to build something better together. That is the work we believe in at DAC, too.”

Tracy McQuire, Executive Director of Diabetes Action Canada, said the scale of DAC’s contributions reflects the strength of research shaped with communities, not just for them. “Through CIHR’s Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research, Canada has helped build a model where people with lived experience are true partners in shaping research and solutions. To see more than 20 DAC abstracts accepted, seven fellowship projects featured, and our members contributing across the program is incredibly meaningful. We are proud to bring that approach to a global effort to end diabetes stigma and improve care.”

Based at University Health Network, DAC is anchored in one of the world’s leading academic health systems. Earlier this year, Toronto General Hospital, part of UHN, was ranked #2 in the world, underscoring the global strength of the institution supporting this work.

The Global Summit builds on the international momentum to end diabetes stigma, including the Pledge to End Diabetes Stigma, which has engaged thousands of individuals and organizations across 119 countries, and aims to produce a global roadmap for action across healthcare, research, and policy.

Diabetes Action Canada will continue sharing reflections, stories, and contributions from its Canadian delegation throughout the Summit.

About Diabetes Action Canada

Diabetes Action Canada is a national research network funded through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research and based at University Health Network. DAC brings together people living with diabetes, loved ones, researchers, clinicians, and decision-makers to co-design solutions that improve lives and health systems. Through a national network of 400+ patient partners and initiatives including the Research-to-Action Fellowship, DAC advances more equitable, person-centred diabetes research and care across Canada.

Media Contacts

Linxi Mytkolli
linxi.mytkolli@uhn.ca

Tracy McQuire
tracy.mcquire@uhn.ca