WHO issues first guidelines on adult type 1 diabetes, targets affordable insulin access

By Chioma Obinna The World Health Organisation (WHO) yesterday issued its first-ever guidelines on the diagnosis and management of type 1 diabetes in adults, warning that millions of people living with the condition still lack access to affordable insulin and essential care more than a century after the drug was discovered. The guidelines, released to mark World Diabetes Day 2026, provide evidence-based recommendations for managing the lifelong condition across different healthcare settings, including countries with limited resources and those experiencing emergencies or humanitarian crises.

WHO said the new guidelines were designed to address persistent gaps in diabetes care, particularly access to insulin, regular blood glucose monitoring and quality treatment for adults who depend on daily insulin to survive. According to the global health agency, an estimated 9.5 million people were living with type 1 diabetes worldwide in 2025, with another 500,000 diagnosed during the year.

Although type 1 diabetes is often regarded as a childhood condition, WHO noted that it is increasingly affecting adults, underscoring the need for stronger diagnosis and treatment systems beyond paediatric healthcare. Speaking on the guidelines, WHO Director of Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health, Dr Søren Brostrøm, said: “Insulin is a lifesaving treatment, discovered more than 100 years ago.

Yet many people with type 1 diabetes do not have access to affordable and high-quality insulin. “The new WHO guidelines provide evidence-based recommendations to help countries deliver the best possible care, including in settings where resources are limited and health services are disrupted.” Under the recommendations, people with type 1 diabetes should receive insulin injections several times daily, with doses adjusted according to their blood glucose levels.

WHO said human insulin, a manufactured medicine that works like insulin naturally produced by the body, remains an appropriate and effective treatment option, while other types of insulin may be used when necessary. The guidelines also recommend regular blood glucose monitoring, including periodic clinic-based tests that measure average blood sugar levels over several months.

For monitoring at home, patients can use finger-prick tests or continuous glucose monitors, which employ small sensors worn on the skin. Where blood glucose testing is unavailable, urine glucose testing may be considered. The recommendations are also expected to support WHO’s 2030 targets of ensuring that everyone living with type 1 diabetes has access to affordable insulin treatment and blood glucose self-monitoring.

WHO said it would support countries in translating the recommendations into practical action through tools and guidance for tracking progress, while encouraging governments to involve people living with type 1 diabetes in designing, implementing and evaluating diabetes programmes. The 2026 World Diabetes Day is being observed under the theme, “Early action on diabetes”.

WHO warned that diabetes can cause severe complications, including blindness, kidney failure, heart attacks, stroke and lower-limb amputation. The global burden of diabetes has more than quadrupled since 1990. In 2022, an estimated 830 million people were living with diabetes worldwide, the majority with type 2 diabetes. More than 40 per cent of people living with diabetes are unaware they have the condition and therefore remain undiagnosed.