Who we are

The World Diabetes Foundation was founded in 2002 as an independent foundation by Novo Nordisk A/S, and today is a leading global funder of diabetes prevention and care projects in low- and middle-income countries.

Key facts

• We support low- and middle-income countries in improving diabetes prevention and care.
• We work through partnerships.
• We act as a catalyst for change.
• We support projects that are demand-driven, locally formulated, integrated into local health systems.

Since 2002, the World Diabetes Foundation has provided 201.5 million EUR in funding to 605 partnership projects in 120 countries. For every euro provided by WDF, project partners raise approximately 2 euros in cash or as in-kind donations from other sources.

Our vision

We alleviate human suffering related to diabetes among those in greatest need.

Our mission

• We create partnerships to assist people with diabetes and those at risk, acting as a catalyst to help others do more
• We link people and resources to educate and advocate globally and provide care locally
• Our priority is to support people living in severe poverty
• We empower local communities to achieve sustainable solutions and yield replicable models
• We encourage innovative strategies to prevent diabetes and its consequences

Our legal basis

The World Diabetes Foundation is an independent and non-profit foundation governed by the Danish Foundation Act.
WDF is based in Denmark and supervised by the Civil Affairs Agency, Denmark's authority for non-commercial foundations. It is governed by an independent Board of Directors.
 

Our funding

The World Diabetes Foundation’s income derives primarily from a Donation Agreement with Novo Nordisk A/S. The Donation Agreement funds the core activities of the WDF. The most recent agreement covers the years 2020 - 2024. The maximum donation for the five years is DKK 460 million.

In addition, WDF has been successful in attracting funding via grant applications to the Novo Nordisk Foundation. In 2019, the Novo Nordisk Foundation approved the first grant to WDF to support a national NCD response in Tanzania. Since then, the Novo Nordisk Foundation has approved several applications from WDF, enabling WDF to scale up country-specific projects. Novo Nordisk Foundation grants to WDF are more than DKK 250 million, with projects running from 2020-2025.

Updated 28 April, 2022