• Santé Diabète was founded in 2001 by a group of specialists in diabetes, health and development to improve diabetes prevention and care in Africa.

• Stéphane Besançon, the NGO’s current Chief Executive Officer, is one of the founding members of the organisation. It was originally named Santé Diabète Mali after the country where its first field activities began in 2003.

• Between the NGO’s establishment in 2001 and the 2011 High-level Meeting on Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) during the United Nations General Assembly, the international context evolved towards greater recognition of NCDs.
• In this context, the NGO’s expertise and network of partners made it an essential international partner in interventions to improve diabetes prevention and care in Africa.

• Santé Diabète Mali undertook substantial work to strengthen its activities in Mali while preparing to develop projects in other countries. This expansion was requested by countries such as Burkina Faso, which wished to benefit from the methodologies developed over ten years in Mali, as well as the NGO’s legitimacy and partner network. It also responded to the need to strengthen global advocacy at a time when the international community was not yet giving sufficient attention to this health emergency.

This change of identity marked the beginning of a broader mandate, both geographically and in terms of its missions. It is based on four strategic priorities :

• Develop interventions in new countries beyond Mali (Burkina Faso, Union of the Comoros, Benin, Guinea, etc.).

• Provide specialised expertise in diabetes and, more broadly, in health and development, drawing on a network of internationally recognised experts.

• Make the skills acquired in West Africa available to French organisations working with migrants from sub-Saharan Africa.

• Strengthen advocacy among communities and authorities in countries of the Global North to improve understanding of diabetes and the challenges it poses in low- and middle-income countries.

• Launch of a programme on education for citizenship and international solidarity in France.

• Création d’une délégation Santé Diabète au Burkina Faso

• Establishment of a Santé Diabète country office in Senegal, which operated for five years before closing in 2018.

• Establishment of a country office in the Union of the Comoros and launch of a programme to address diabetes across the archipelago.
• An “AFD diabetes prevention expertise” mission in French Polynesia.

• Launch of the first three-year multi-country programme involving Mali, Burkina Faso and the Union of the Comoros, to strengthen diabetes prevention and care in all three countries, co-financed by the French Development Agency.
• Lancement au Mali et au Burkina Faso d’un premier projet innovant visant à mieux intégrer la prévention et la prise en charge du diabète, du VIH et de la tuberculose, financé par L’Initiative / Expertise France

• Santé Diabète fait partie des structures de la société civile sélectionnées pour participer au 3ème Sommet de Haut Niveau des Nations Unies consacré aux maladies non transmissibles (MNT) durant l'Assemblée Générale des Nations Unies à New York

• Première journée scientifique inter-pays (Mali, Burkina Faso, Union des Comores et France) réalisée à Bamako (Mali) pour partager et capitaliser les activités mises en œuvre et les résultats obtenus dans les différents pays d’intervention
• Organisation d’une journée à l’Assemblée nationale à Paris, en France, sur les maladies non transmissibles au Nord et au Sud

• Launch of a second three-year multi-country programme involving Mali, Burkina Faso and the Union of the Comoros, to strengthen diabetes prevention and care in all three countries, primarily co-financed by the French Development Agency, the World Diabetes Foundation, the Helmsley Charitable Trust and the City of Grenoble.
• Déploiement d’un plan de réponse Covid-19 Diabète au Mali et au Burkina Faso.

• Adoption d’une résolution historique sur le diabète par les États membres de l’OMS sous l’impulsion de Santé Diabète
• Oganisation à Grenoble (France) d’une réunion d’experts francophones sur le diabète
• Launch of a second project to strengthen the integration of diabetes, HIV and tuberculosis prevention and care, now extended to the Union of the Comoros alongside Mali and Burkina Faso.

• Inauguration of the first Houses for the Prevention of Diabetes Risk Factors in Burkina Faso, Mali and the Union of the Comoros. They strengthen our prevention activities with partner civil society organisations.

• Lancement d’un 3ème programme multi pays de trois ans impliquant le Mali, le Burkina Faso et l’Union des Comores, afin de renforcer la prévention et la prise en charge du diabète dans les 3 pays (financé par différents bailleurs de fonds suivant les pays pour répondre aux contraintes géopolitiques)
• En parallèle, Santé Diabète mène des missions exploratoires dans 3 nouveaux pays : Djibouti, Togo et Cap vert.
• The second inter-country scientific meeting (Mali, Burkina Faso, Union of the Comoros and France) was held in Moroni, Union of the Comoros, to share and consolidate learning from activities and results across the countries of intervention.

• Inauguration of new regional Diabetes Prevention Houses, bringing the number of operational houses in Mali, Burkina Faso and the Union of the Comoros to 13. These bring diabetes and risk-factor prevention and care closer to communities, particularly outside the capitals.
• Santé Diabète participated in the fourth High-level Meeting on NCDs and mental health during the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

• Following three successive three-year programmes in Mali, Burkina Faso and the Union of the Comoros, launch of a new three-year phase to consolidate achievements, capture and share lessons learned, and strengthen national partners’ autonomy to ensure the sustainability of activities. This new stage is supported by the longstanding funding partners that have worked alongside Santé Diabète in these three countries for many years.
• En parallèle, lancement d’un premier programme de trois ans au Cap Vert, en partenariat avec le ministère de la santé, marquant une nouvelle étape dans le développement des interventions de Santé Diabète. Il vise à améliorer la prévention et la prise en charge du diabète au niveau primaire de la pyramide sanitaire.
• The third inter-country scientific meeting (Mali, Burkina Faso, Union of the Comoros and the NGO’s international partners) was held in Moroni, Union of the Comoros, to share and consolidate learning from activities and results across the countries of intervention.