The BRIDGES programme is closed and no longer accepting applications for funding support

In 2017, the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly) came together for the second phase of the Bringing Research in Diabetes to Global Environments and Systems programme (BRIDGES 2), reaffirming their commitment to helping people with diabetes effectively manage their condition.

BRIDGES 2 built upon the work undertaken and the lessons learned during the initial phase of the programme which operated from 2007 to 2015. The programme funded and replicated a selection of three projects from the initial phase, placing an emphasis on the secondary prevention of diabetes and a strong involvement of local public health authorities.

The aim of the second round of the BRIDGES programme was to replicate in low-and-middle income countries, one of the three successful interventions that took place in Mali (Africa), Egypt (Middle East and North Africa) and China (Western Pacific).

A call for applications  for replication or expansion of one of the three selected interventions from the previous round of the BRIDGES programme that have proven to be successful in one country, was conducted in June-August 2017. All grant proposals were peer reviewed and prioritised by a cross-disciplinary external review group under the coordination of IDF.  The following three institutions were selected as implementation sites:

• Novena University (Delta State, Nigeria)
• College of Medicine of University of Nigeria (Nigeria)
• Universitas Syiah Kuala (Banda Aceh, Indonesia), in collaboration with Georg-August Universität (Gottïngen, Germany)

Each of the three institutions received funding and adequate mentorship to implement a tailor-made diabetes secondary prevention programme. This will enable the implementation of established evidenced-based interventions and community oriented approaches to diabetes care in different settings, with the ultimate aim of improving health outcomes for people living with diabetes.

The selected projects are varied and include:

• A randomized trial on the suitability of peer education to improve diabetes management and outcomes in a low-income setting (Banda Aceh, Indonesia)
• A randomized trial on an intensive education intervention using a mobile application and network of people living with diabetes to implement glycaemic control (Delta State, Nigeria)
• A community-based randomized trial and lifestyle intervention using a targeted shared care approach on pregnancy outcomes in Nigerian women with gestational diabetes but without diabetes (Nsukka, Nigeria).

The principal investigators of the projects from the first round of BRIDGES supervised and provided mentorship to the implementation of the selected projects throughout their duration. Field visits were organized and onsite workshops took place in each site. The workshops were supervised by the BRIDGES 2 Steering group, comprised of international experts, and intensive monitoring of each project was carried out throughout the implementation phase.