Content Type: Advocacy Stories

The Mathematical Fallacy of Survival: Why Kenya’s New Health Framework is Failing Type 1 Diabetics

1 Jul 2026, 5:50 p.m. in Content Type: Advocacy Stories, Country: Kenya, The Right to Full Care: Other Essential Medicine Access & Universal Health Coverage by Chasia Lewis, T1International Kenya #insulin4all Chapter Leader

Chasia shares how living with type 1 diabetes inspired her to become an advocate for equitable access to diabetes care. Drawing on his own experiences and the realities faced by people with diabetes in Kenya, he highlights the shortcomings of the country's Social Health Authority (SHA) coverage and calls for urgent reforms to ensure insulin, essential supplies, and lifesaving care are accessible and affordable for all. Read more

Back to the future: When insulin access disappears

11 May 2026, 8:58 p.m. in Content Type: Advocacy Stories, Country: Hungary, Insulin Access: Modern Insulins by Kristóf Bartha

In November 2025, Novo Nordisk announced it would discontinue several insulins across Europe, including in Hungary where I’m from. For many of people, it had a significant disruption. I know this because I lived it. Read more

Uruguay Registers Surge in Court-Ordered Access to Insulin Pumps for Adults with Type 1 Diabetes

10 Mar 2026, 9:44 p.m. in Content Type: Advocacy Stories, Country: Uruguay, The Right to Full Care: Other Essential Medicine Access & Universal Health Coverage by Sebastián Haro

In Uruguay, access to insulin pump therapy for adults with type 1 diabetes is now frequently resolved through judicial mechanisms rather than standard healthcare coverage pathways. Read more

Voices from Gaza: Rationing Expired Insulin and No Test Strips

16 Feb 2026, 3:18 p.m. in Content Type: Advocacy Stories, Country: Palestine, Insulin Access: Modern Insulins, The Right to Full Care: Glucose Self-Monitoring Supplies by Ali Hisham and Mohammed Seyam

People living with diabetes in Gaza have suffered for years under constrained health services due to Israeli blockades. In recent years, this suffering has escalated to unimaginable levels. Insulin, diabetes supplies, and even food became almost entirely unavailable as violence intensified and entire neighbourhoods turned into battlefields.

In the last few weeks, I interviewed three people from Gaza to share their testimonies of living with type 1 diabetes there.
Read more

A Trillion-Dollar Company and a $687 Vial: My Conversation with Eli Lilly

12 Jan 2026, 8:02 p.m. in Content Type: Advocacy Stories, Country: United States, Insulin Access: Price Caps by Molly King

This blog is a personal story from Molly King, a person living with type 1 diabetes and T1International’s Indiana #insulin4all Chapter co-lead. Molly reflects on her experience rationing insulin and being hospitalized, and she describes a recent conversation with an Eli Lilly executive about insulin pricing. Her story highlights the ongoing reality of insulin rationing, the impact of high list prices, and why T1International remains independent from pharmaceutical company funding while advocating for affordable insulin for everyone, everywhere. Read more

Fighting for Survival: The Insulin Crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo

23 Sep 2025, 8:02 p.m. in Content Type: Advocacy Stories, Country: Democratic Republic of Congo, Insulin Access: Modern Insulins by T1International

In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), living with type 1 diabetes is not only a daily challenge–it’s a fight for survival. Access to insulin is deeply unequal and increasingly precarious due to conflict, economic instability, and fragile health systems. Two members of the T1International network, Dr. Kalehezo Murhabazi Albert and Professor Justin Cikomola Cirhuza, share a glimpse into what this crisis looks like on the ground. Read more

"I Wasn’t a ‘Bad Diabetic.’ I Just Couldn’t Afford Insulin."

11 Jun 2025, 5:06 p.m. in Content Type: Advocacy Stories, Country: United States, Taking on Monopoly Power: Patent Reform by Lacy McGee

Progress on Insulin Access: Adding Rapid-Acting Insulin Analogues to the Essential Medicines List

9 Apr 2025, 10:04 p.m. in Content Type: Advocacy Stories, Country: Global, Insulin Access: Modern Insulins by T1International

Facing My Guilt: I am surviving, but diabetics in Gaza are not

19 Aug 2024, 8 p.m. in Content Type: Advocacy Stories, Country: Palestine, The Right to Full Care: Diabetes in Humanitarian Settings by Ali Hisham

Ten years ago, when I was first diagnosed with type one diabetes, I spent countless hours studying my newly diagnosed condition. I came across a research paper by Stanford University stating that people living with type 1 diabetes make around 180 more decisions per day than people without diabetes, with a rate of an extra decision every 5 minutes of waking time. I then realised that type 1 diabetes is a full-time job, without vacations or time off. Read more

Global Advocacy Success Series: Kelia Moses, WE Care Sierra Leone

24 Jul 2024, 9:22 a.m. in Content Type: Advocacy Stories, Country: Sierra Leone, The Right to Full Care: Combatting Discrimination with Education by Kelia Moses

The idea to work on this issue stemmed from a personal experience that deeply impacted me. In 2008, I lost my aunt to diabetes-related complications. Witnessing her struggle with diabetes and the lack of medical expertise to detect and manage her condition was a profound and heartbreaking experience for me. Read more