The primary goal of the guideline is to improve the quality of care and the outcome in people with type 2 diabetes in low-resource settings. The guideline provides a basis for development of simple algorithms for management of diabetes with essential medicines and technology available in first-contact health services in low-resource settings. It recommends a set of basic interventions to integrate management of diabetes into primary health care. The recommendations are limited to patients with type 2 diabetes, as the more complex management of type 1 diabetes requires more specialized care.The target users are health care professionals responsible for developing diabetes treatment protocols which will be used by health care staff in primary care units in low-resource settings. A guideline development group was constituted, which included external experts and WHO staff.