Eli Lilly, EVA Pharma collaborate to provide affordable insulin to diabetic patients in Africa

"EVA Pharma is committed to empowering the fight for health and well-being as a human right," said Riad Armanious, CEO of EVA Pharma. "People suffering from diabetes in LMICs experience daily challenges in accessing treatment. We feel blessed to collaborate with the team at Lilly. Combining our African reach, state-of-the-art facilities, and Lilly's deep expertise in diabetes care, we aim to treat at least one million patients by 2030 who otherwise may not have access to life-saving medication."

According to the IDF Diabetes Atlas, the total number of people with diabetes in Africa is expected to increase 129% by 2045, reaching 55 million people.

WHO established the Global Diabetes Compact in 2021, a global initiative to support countries in implementing effective programs for the prevention and management of diabetes, one tenet of which includes engaging with the private sector to expand access to products that will improve the lives of people living with diabetes. The dialogues with WHO encourage implementation of and accountability for the commitments and contributions toward improving access to insulin.

"The success of these commitments to increase access for people living with diabetes is an important step in the right direction, but global engagement will need to be translated into implementation in regions and countries," said WHO Director for Noncommunicable Disease, Dr Bente Mikkelsen. "This is the starting point – the hope is to have insulin and diabetes devices as part of Essential Benefit Packages in low- and middle-income countries towards achieving Universal Health Coverage."

Lilly will work with EVA Pharma to ensure that their products meet the high-quality standards set for WHO prequalification, which has become a global symbol for safety, quality and efficacy.