Conference Recaps: The Symposium on Diabetes in Humanitarian Crises, and IPHU on Public Pharma

In October 2025, Chris Toavs, a first year PhD student in the Resource Efficiency Collective, attended two research and advocacy conferences on diabetes and health respectively. Chris is researching mitigating the environmental impact of diabetes-related waste with special focus on patient participation.

The first conference was held in Geneva, Switzerland by the International Alliance for Diabetes Action (IADA) on diabetes in humanitarian crises. Chris participated in several focus groups on environmental factors and the bidirectional relationship between diabetes and the climate crisis. In these groups, she had the opportunity to convene with other researchers, activists, and health professionals to garner ideas and chart future solutions. She also presented a poster on the Out-of-Pocket Expenses Survey Report she conducted with T1International–a global diabetes advocacy organisation.

The second conference held by the International People’s Health University (IPHU) and People’s Health Movement (PHM) took place in Glasgow, Scotland. IPHU invited Chris to present about insulin production in public pharmaceutical manufacturing as a multifaceted solution to health access, affordability, and environmental preservation efforts. Chris spoke about the potential that public pharma holds to aid these efforts in a more sustainable future that inadvertently impacts health and the environment. She had the opportunity to meet with PHM advocates who value the interconnectedness of health, environment, government systems, and more. 

Both conferences provided great insight into the pervasiveness Chris is researching regarding diabetes care’s impact on the environment and the importance of advocacy in these spaces.

To learn more about T1International and their work, click here, and to view their access survey (from which Chris used data for her poster) click here.