The Global Diabetes Summit, took place on 14 April 2021, aimed to raise awareness of diabetes as a global challenge and address the need to scale-up prevention and treatment as part of primary health care and universal health coverage. The event was co-hosted by the World Health Organization and the Government of Canada, with the support of the University of Toronto. During the event, a major new initiative, the Global Diabetes Compact, was launched. The President of Kenya joined the Prime Ministers of Fiji, Norway and Singapore; the WHO Global Ambassador for Noncommunicable Diseases and Injuries, Michael R. Bloomberg; and ministers of health from a number of countries as well as diabetes experts and people living with diabetes, to highlight the ways in which they will support this new collaborative effort. Other UN agencies, civil society partners and representatives of the private sector also attended.