Diabetes Investment Accelerator

The Diabetes Investment Accelerator (DIA) has been developed by WDF to explore, implement and scale innovative financing mechanisms to address the growing burden of diabetes and related NCDs in low- and middle income countries.

DIA team

Kirza Buch Kristensen
Director, Business Development and Strategy
+45 30 77 51 46
kzbk@worlddiabetesfoundation.org

Anders Bager
Senior Project Manager
+45 34 44 09 16
gnea@worlddiabetesfoundation.org

The problem

Additional resources and innovative partnerships are needed to address the impact of diabetes and NCDs in LMICs.

  • 537 million adults are living with diabetes worldwide, 81% live in LMICs.

  • 17 million people die prematurely between the ages of 30 and 69 each year. 86% of all premature deaths caused by NCDs occur in LMICs.

  • Globally, 87.5% of all undiagnosed cases of diabetes are in low and middle-income countries.

  • Diabetes and NCDs has a profound effect on a countries productivity, health systems, individual households, and human capital.

  • The financial impact of diabetes and NCDs have been estimated at USD 47 trillion between 2010-2030, an average of more than USD 2 trillion per year.

  • An additional investment of USD 0.90 per person could prevent or delay up to 80% of all NCD, saving 7 million lives and USD 230 billion in economic benefits.

How the Diabetes Investment Accelerator works

The Accelerator serves as an intermediary, supplementing traditional grant-giving models with innovative financing mechanisms to accelerate investments in prevention and access to care for people living with diabetes and related NCDs.

Through the Accelerator, we provide access to funding, generate knowledge, develop investment cases, nurture a project pipeline, and build a strong alliance of impact-first organisations, investors, and other change-makers.

Our approach

Knowledge

Build knowledge around impact-first financing and investing

  • Strengthen the evidence base for innovative financing models in the health sector within LMICs.

  • Co-develop and disseminate knowledge products on the use of blended finance, outcome-based financing, and impact investments in the health sector in LMICs.

  • Develop tools and materials to assist practitioners in engaging with innovative financing mechanisms.

Investment

Co-develop and deploy concrete investment cases with partners

  • Identify and facilitate the development of specific investment cases in close collaboration with local and global partners.

  • Enable the partner coalition to align on desired outcomes, develop suitable interventions, and conduct cost analysis to establish robust business cases.

Global alliance

Build a global alliance of partners to accelerate new financing models

  • Engage local and global partners leveraging their expertise and resources, to develop and implement impactful and investable health interventions, including investors, service providers, philanthropic organisations, outcome buyers, and knowledge institutions.

Our current portfolio

Type 2 diabetes reduction initiative

Key partner: Raven Indigenous Impact Foundation
Location: Canada - Indigenous Communities

Objective: Preventing diabetes or diabetes-related complications in six Indigenous communities.

Status: Ready for implementation

Screening and treating diabetic retinopathy  

Key partners: Armenian Eyecare Project, Armenian Ministry of Health  
Location: Armenia

Objective: Screening and management of diabetes and diabetic retinopathy

Status: Late-stage development 

Scaling a national systems approach to diabetic retinopathy 

Key partner: Fred Hollows Foundation
Location: Bangladesh and Nepal

Objective: Preventing diabetes or diabetes-related complications.

Status: Early-stage development

Next step

Diabetes Investment Accelerator Fund I

  • Ambition: To enhance the impact and scale of diabetes/NCD prevention and access to care interventions in LMICs.

  • Impact-first fund: A clear primary social and sustainable impact investment objective.

  • Attract investors: Ability to attract impact investors looking for both social and financial returns on investment.

  • Investment projects: 4-5 investment projects implemented and managed by partners, with project outcomes monitored through WDF and verified by an external entity.

  • Impact goal: Reducing the burden of diabetes and related NCDs in selected LMICs through increased diagnosis and treatment, strengthened care delivery, and increased opportunities for healthy living and pregnancies.

Status: Early-stage development

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