Novo Nordisk's LEAD initiative
- Leadership for Education and Access to Diabetes care
Novo Nordisk’s initiatives to improve people’s access to healthcare form part of the company’s strategy, which strives to balance economic viability, social responsibility, and environmental awareness.
Alleviating inequality and poverty is a key factor in the efforts to achieve a more sustainable development, and hence this is an issue that Novo Nordisk sees a need to address proactively.
The WHO has identified four major focus areas for improving access to healthcare in developing countries:
- Development of national disease strategies
- Building of national healthcare capacity
- Provision at best possible pricing
- Additional funding
In the context of Novo Nordisk’s key business area - diabetes care - there is an urgent need for action.
Today, about 150 million people around the world have diabetes. According to the WHO, that number will grow to 300 million by 2025, and 70% of the increase will occur in developing countries. Furthermore, it is estimated that three out of four people do not receive optimal treatment in accordance with the guidelines for managing the disease. This can lead to blindness, heart disease complications, kidney failure, and amputations.
Novo Nordisk has integrated the WHO’s four priorities into its own LEAD strategy for improving access to diabetes care in developing countries and has identified activities to implement for each of them:
- The National Diabetes Strategies project aims to create collaborations with health authorities in setting up national strategies for how to deal with diabetes
- The DAWN study (Diabetes Attitudes, Wishes and Needs) uncovers the behavioural, social, and psychological aspects of diabetes in 13 countries. It is the largest global survey ever conducted and will create the foundation for a more fact-based dialogue among various diabetes stakeholders. This study provides new and important knowledge about patients and thus helps build the national diabetes care capacities.
- The World Partner Programme is a survey conducted in six developing countries with a view to benchmarking good practices for improving access to diabetes care, as well as identifying areas for improvement. The objective is to use the findings for developing ‘sustainable diabetes models’ that benefit people with diabetes at very low-income levels, and still enable a provider like Novo Nordisk to realise appropriate profits.
- In terms of ‘best possible pricing’, Novo Nordisk’s evaluation has led to a new price policy. According to this policy insulin will be offered to public health systems in the poorest countries at prices not to exceed 20% of the average price in North America, Europe, and Japan.
- Finally, The World Diabetes Foundation is Novo Nordisk’s contribution towards providing additional funding to diabetes care in developing countries. It is an independent foundation chaired by a Board of Directors representing diabetes experts, patient organisations, health NGOs, and representatives from Novo Nordisk. The aim of the foundation is to support access to diabetes care in terms of education, awareness and treatment in developing countries.
Novo Nordisk’s LEAD initiatives are the result of the stakeholder dialogue, which is a key element of Novo Nordisk’s business strategy.
