By Bernard Brisolier, General Manager, Middle East, Africa and Turkey, Insulet
Type 1 diabetes is one of the world’s most misunderstood chronic conditions. It is routinely conflated with Type 2 diabetes in public conversation, meaning the unique challenges of Type 1 diabetes, and the urgency it demands, are frequently overlooked. This misunderstanding has real consequences. It shapes healthcare funding decisions, policy priorities, and the speed at which innovative diabetes technologies and treatment options reach the people who need them most.
The numbers alone should command attention. According to the most recent estimates from the International Diabetes Federation Atlas and T1D Index, published in 2025, there are now 9.5 million people globally living with Type 1 diabetes, a 13 percent increase since 2021.¹ In 2025, an estimated 513,000 new cases will be diagnosed worldwide, with 43.3 percent of those occurring in people under the age of 20.¹
The global incidence rate is rising at 2.4 percent annually, and without a significant shift in how the condition is identified and managed, the global Type 1 diabetes population is projected to reach 14.7 million by 2040.¹ Most alarmingly, an estimated 17.2 percent of the 174,000 premature deaths from Type 1 diabetes in 2025 are attributable to the condition not being diagnosed at all, with patients dying from diabetic ketoacidosis before anyone recognized what they were experiencing.¹ These figures highlight the urgent need for greater Type 1 diabetes awareness, earlier diagnosis, and improved access to advanced diabetes care.
TYPE 1 DIABETES IN SAUDI ARABIA AND THE MIDDLE EAST
The burden falls heavily on this region. Saudi Arabia holds the fourth-highest incidence rate of Type 1 diabetes in the world, at 33.5 per 100,000 individuals, and ranks eighth globally by total patient numbers, with 35,000 children and adolescents living with the condition.² The Kingdom accounts for approximately one quarter of all Type 1 diabetes cases across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA),² and incidence across the region continues to rise. The IDF Atlas noted a significant increase in Type 1 diabetes incidence across Africa and the Middle East in its most recent editions, driven in part by new data from countries where the condition had previously been underreported.³
What makes this particularly pressing is the nature of the condition itself. Type 1 diabetes is not the result of lifestyle choices. It is an autoimmune disease in which the body destroys the cells responsible for producing insulin. Those who have it require insulin therapy for the rest of their lives from the point of diagnosis, every day without exception. The management burden this places on patients, families, and healthcare systems is profound and ongoing, and for too long the response from the industry has not matched the scale of the challenge.
CLOSING THE DIABETES TECHNOLOGY GAP
The standard of care for Type 1 diabetes has historically meant multiple daily insulin injections, frequent blood glucose testing, and a relentless cycle of manual adjustments. For many individuals living with Type 1 diabetes in this region and globally, that remains the reality today. Yet the technology to move meaningfully beyond this model already exists. With the GCC’s young and digitally connected population increasingly embracing healthcare technology, governments across the region are prioritizing healthcare digitization and innovation.
Automated insulin delivery (AID) systems represent a step change in what is possible. By integrating a wearable insulin delivery platform with a continuous glucose monitor and a smart dosing algorithm, AID systems remove the majority of manual decision-making from daily diabetes management. These systems also provide healthcare professionals with valuable data and insights that can support more informed clinical decision-making. The system continuously monitors glucose levels, anticipates trends, and automatically adjusts insulin delivery. The result is not merely greater convenience; it is measurably better health outcomes while helping reduce emergency admissions and hospitalizations, easing the burden on healthcare facilities.
THE EVIDENCE BEHIND AUTOMATED INSULIN DELIVERY SYSTEMS
The latest generation of tubeless, patch-based automated insulin delivery systems represents one of the most clinically substantiated advances in Type 1 diabetes management to date. Unlike conventional pump therapy, which relies on tubing and a separate handheld device, these systems are worn directly on the skin, are waterproof, and can be controlled via smartphone, reducing much of the physical and logistical burden associated with traditional insulin management.
- In pivotal clinical trials, tubeless AID systems improved time in range by 9.3 percent in adults and adolescents and by 15.6 percent in children with Type 1 diabetes.⁴
- Real-world evidence has reinforced these findings at scale. A retrospective analysis of nearly 70,000 users found median time in range reaching 68.8 percent at the lowest glucose target setting, with minimal time below range recorded across all age groups.⁵
- A further real-world study of more than 37,000 users, presented at the Advanced Technologies and Treatments for Diabetes conference in Amsterdam in March 2025, demonstrated a 16 percent improvement in time in range alongside a meaningful reduction in HbA1c.⁶
Underpinning these outcomes is the use of adaptive dosing algorithms that adjust insulin delivery automatically every few minutes, learning from individual glucose patterns over time. For a person who has spent years managing a condition that never rests, that degree of automation is not an incremental improvement. It is a fundamental shift in what daily life with Type 1 diabetes can look like.
RAISING AWARENESS AND IMPROVING ACCESS TO DIABETES CARE
Technology alone, however, cannot close the gap. Greater public and clinical awareness of Type 1 diabetes, its distinct causes, management complexity, and the solutions now available is equally essential. In a region where the condition is as prevalent as it is in Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East, there is a clear and urgent need for investment in education, early diagnosis pathways, and clinical training that reflect the current state of diabetes care.
Today, there are a variety of players contributing to diabetes technology innovation, with Insulet being one of them. Insulet’s decision to open its Middle East regional headquarters in Riyadh reflects a commitment to being part of that effort, not from a distance, but on the ground, in sustained partnership with healthcare institutions, clinicians, and policymakers working to improve outcomes for people living with Type 1 diabetes across the region.
The technology exists. The clinical evidence is clear. What is needed now is a collective effort to improve Type 1 diabetes awareness, expand access to advanced diabetes technology, strengthen early diagnosis pathways, and close the gap between current care and what is possible for people living with Type 1 diabetes.
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