Who we are
The European Chronic Disease Alliance (ECDA) is a coalition of 13 European health organisations sharing the same interests in combating preventable chronic diseases through European policies that impact health. ECDA represents millions of chronic disease patients and over 200 000 health professionals.
ECDA was the recipient of the European Health Award 2010 for its work to improve the prevention of chronic diseases at the European level.
The ECDA is currently chaired by Prof. Em. Raymond Vanholder, President of the European Kidney Health Alliance (EKHA) for 2023-2024.
Our Mission
To reverse the alarming rise in chronic diseases by providing leadership and policy recommendations based on contemporary evidence.
Our Priorities
- Provide policy recommendations based on contemporary evidence
- Raise awareness and advocate by engaging with policy-makers
- Promote the development and implementation of a EU Framework on Chronic Disease
- Develop and publish position/policy papers
Our Recommendations
- Continue supporting the School Fruit Scheme
- EU structural and agricultural funds should contribute to creating healthier societies
- Employ regulatory interventions to restrict advertising for unhealthy products, especially to children, and potentially for setting compositional standards, e.g. salt and fat
- To overcome the existing fragmentation and duplication of research in Europe in the health field, human health must be at the core. There is a major gap in translational research in Europe and better care delivery will only be possible if sustainable networks across Europe join together and share their resources to tackle the scientific challenges
- Comparable data at EU level on incidence, prevalence, risk factors and outcomes, is urgently needed. EU registries are clearly missing
- eHealth interventions hold promises but more research into effectiveness and cost-effectiveness is needed
- Educate and train health care personnel so that they can deliver optimal health, including but not limited to caring for patients with multiple chronic conditions
- Introduce mandatory standardised packaging of cigarettes with 80% of front and back devoted to pictorial health warnings
- Adopt a nutrient profiling system that will allow health and nutrition claims only on healthier options
- Ensure the implementation of the WHO Global Strategy to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol
- Prioritise the needs of pedestrians and cyclists over those of motorists in urban development and ensure easy access to facilities encouraging physical activity
- Early detection and diagnosis, implementation of population-based quality assured screening programmes, evaluation of social inequalities and development of novel tools to detect chronic disease in at-risk populations are all measures that should be encouraged at Member State level
- Austerity measures adopted by many European countries have seriously affected access to care for chronic non-communicable disease patients. Yet, the economic crisis should be used as an opportunity to explore new and innovative ways of tackling chronic diseases
