One of the first voices to call for a UN High-Level Meeting on NCDs, IDF has long recognized the need for a political platform to secure commitments and leadership at the highest level for diabetes. The global data on diabetes prevalence and costs presented in IDF’s Diabetes Atlas are critical to persuading policy makers of the need for urgent action to tackle the disease. Experience has shown, however, that even such robust evidence and dramatic numbers have not been enough to change hearts and minds and stimulate the increased investment required. Political inertia also must be tackled to engender sustainable change. Building on the 2006 UN Resolution 61/225 on Diabetes, and drawing on the lessons and achievements of the HIV/AIDS UN General Assembly Special Session a decade ago, IDF saw a UN summit on NCDs as an opportunity to engage heads of state and government in order to secure agreements at the highest political level and thus accelerate global progress on diabetes.