March 19, 2026 Advancing Allyship on International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Health equity is not optional if we want to improve diabetes outcomes for those who are affected. It is essential. 

By Suelyn Knight, M.Ed.

Each year on March 21, International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination reminds us that racism is not only a social issue, it is a health issue. Across Canada and globally, racial inequities continue to shape who develops diabetes, who has access to care, and who experiences preventable complications.

Health equity means ensuring that access to prevention, treatment, and support is not determined by income, race, gender or cultural background. It means recognizing that effective diabetes care must reflect the realities of the people it serves, which include cultural context, food practices, language and lived experience.

The evidence is glaringly clear: equity is not optional if we are serious about improving diabetes outcomes. It is essential to achieving meaningful and lasting impact.

Equity is essential to improving diabetes outcomes

There are four million people living with diabetes in Canada, but its burden is not evenly distributed. Structural inequities—including systemic racism, barriers to culturally appropriate care, and uneven access to resources—shape prevention, diagnosis and treatment. Addressing diabetes effectively requires more than medical innovation; it requires addressing inequities embedded in the broader health ecosystem.

As highlighted in a recent conversation between Diabetes Canada CEO Laura Syron and me, the organization’s new Executive Director of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA), achieving the vision of a world free from the effects of diabetes requires understanding the diversity of people affected and the barriers many face in accessing equitable care.

This is not only a moral imperative; it is essential for achieving better outcomes for everyone.

Equity strengthens the effectiveness of prevention strategies, improves engagement, and ensures that advances in care benefit all communities—not only those already being well served.

Allyship is critical to advancing health equity

On International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, allyship needs to be more than just a concept—it must be an ever-present responsibility.

Allyship in the diabetes ecosystem means recognizing inequities and using institutional influence, resources, and platforms to help dismantle barriers. It means listening deeply to communities most affected, and working effectively and sustainably alongside them.

It also means lifting up and investing in community-based organizations, community-centred researchers and community leaders who are already advancing health equity. They often hold the trust, cultural expertise, and lived experience necessary to design effective solutions. Their leadership is indispensable.

True allyship shifts power. It moves beyond consultation toward co-creation and co-design, ensuring communities are not only heard, but actively shaping the policies, programs, services and research that affect their health.

Community leadership is a catalyst for change

Community organizations play a vital role in advancing equitable diabetes outcomes. They provide culturally relevant education, trusted care navigation, and prevention programs rooted in lived experience. Their work demonstrates a powerful truth: health equity is achieved not only through clinical care, but through partnerships grounded in respect, trust, and shared purpose.

National organizations, health systems, and institutions must act as partners and allies—supporting, resourcing, and amplifying this work.

A shared responsibility

International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination calls on all of us to examine how systems can be strengthened to serve everyone more equitably. Advancing health equity in diabetes requires sustained commitment, courageous leadership, and collective action. It requires embedding equity into how research is conducted, how programs are designed, and how resources are allocated.

Most importantly, it requires recognizing that equity is not a side initiative. It is central to improving health outcomes. When we advance equity in diabetes, we do more than improve systems. We improve lives.

And we move closer to a future where everyone—regardless of race or heritage—has a fair opportunity to live well. To live free of the effects of diabetes.

Featured organizations and initiatives

Black Health and Social Service Hub Peel (BHSS)

BHSS offers a range of Afrocentric programs and activities in primary care, mental health and addictions, and social services.

Novo Nordisk Network for Healthy Populations

Reducing health inequities in diabetes and related conditions through community-driven research and action.

TAIBU Community Health Centre

TAIBU CHC is a multidisciplinary, non-for-profit, community-led organization established to serve the Black community across the Greater Toronto Area as its priority population.