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Time to Lead: Global Week for Action on NCDs 2024 

As the Global Week for Action on NCDs approaches (October 15-22, 2024), the European Chronic Disease Alliance (ECDA) emphasises the pressing need for decisive action against noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). The theme for this year, “Time to Lead,” highlights the urgency of implementing robust policies and strategies to address the growing burden of NCDs. 

In the EU, the impact of chronic diseases is profound and increasing. Over one-third of EU citizens aged 16 and older report living with one or more chronic diseases. Among working-age Europeans, one in four is affected, and 37% of those aged 65 and over suffer from multiple chronic conditions. These diseases are the leading causes of mortality and disability, responsible for 91% of all deaths and 88% of Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) in 2019. Economically, chronic diseases account for nearly 60% of health spending, costing the EU approximately €115 billion annually—about 0.8% of GDP. The broader societal costs, including productivity losses and care expenses, are substantial and projected to grow with the ageing population. Despite this, investment in health promotion, chronic disease prevention, and management remains insufficient.  

Professor Vanholder highlights the critical need for action: “As we enter the Global Week for Action on NCDs, the message is clear: The Time to Lead is Now. Noncommunicable diseases are the top cause of death and disability globally, and the EU must act decisively. With new leadership in place, it’s crucial to move beyond promises and invest in health promotion and disease prevention. Let’s unite to drive bold actions and set clear targets for a healthier Europe. The time for change is now.” 

In alignment with this urgent call, ECDA’s ongoing campaign, “Investing in a Healthy Europe, Free of Preventable NCDs,” underscores the need for comprehensive action. Key recommendations include increasing investment in health promotion and chronic disease management, developing a holistic EU-wide framework for NCDs, setting ambitious targets to reduce prevalence by 2030, improving health checks and early detection, and enhancing multidisciplinary, integrated care and crisis preparedness for NCDs. 

As the Global Week for Action on NCDs unfolds, we urge everyone to join us in advocating for these bold actions and clear targets. New EU leadership must step up to turn commitments into concrete measures and drive the necessary change for a healthier Europe. The Time to Lead is Now.  

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Key Priorities in Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi's Mission Letter

The mission letter for Olivér Várhelyi, newly appointed Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare, outlines several critical priorities. The letter emphasises the need to strengthen preventive health efforts, ensuring a comprehensive approach to health promotion and disease prevention across the life course. Investing in disease prevention measures is identified as a key strategy to reduce the burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), alleviate pressure on healthcare systems, and support healthy longevity.

Furthermore, President von der Leyen's letter underscores the importance of ensuring the implementation of the Beating Cancer Plan and leveraging this work to develop a unified approach to other critical areas, including mental health, cardiovascular diseases, degenerative illnesses, autism, and other NCDs. Addressing risk factors, especially tobacco use, is as well highlighted. This includes evaluating and revising tobacco legislation, with a focus on concerns about young people’s access to novel tobacco and nicotine products. Additionally, the letter mentions the need to enforce food safety standards.

At ECDA, we support these priorities and are dedicated to advocating for policies that promote NCD prevention and health promotion.

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New Report Highlights Public Call for EU Action on Health Determinants

New Report Highlights Public Call for EU Action on Health Determinants

The European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies recently released a report following a seven-month public debate on the future of EU health policy. The findings highlight a strong collective call for the European Union to play a more significant role in addressing various health determinants. This initiative, in agreement with the European Commission’s Directorate General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE), gathered diverse opinions to inform the European Commission's upcoming mandate and prioritise health in European politics.

Key Findings from the Public Debate

The Observatory engaged stakeholders through a series of events leading up to the 2024 European elections. The major long-term challenges identified include population aging, climate change, and the impact of various health determinants such as social, political, commercial, and structural factors.

Addressing the Determinants of Health

• Health in All Policies (HiAP): The report emphasises integrating health considerations across all policy areas, acknowledging that health outcomes are influenced by environmental conditions, commercial practices, education, and urban planning.
• Commercial Determinants of Health: The report calls for stricter regulations to mitigate the negative impact of commercial interests, such as tobacco, alcohol, and unhealthy food products, on public health.
• Environmental Health: Policies aimed at reducing environmental risks, such as air pollution, climate change, and exposure to harmful chemicals, are crucial for improving public health.

ECDA’s Recommendations

On behalf of the European Chronic Disease Alliance (ECDA), we welcome the Observatory's report and share our views on necessary actions:

• Tackling common modifiable risk factors: Urgent regulatory measures are required to address these risk factors and broader socio-economic determinants of health, especially among children.
• Renewed EU-level impetus: We call for stronger regulatory measures to replace self-regulation, which has proven insufficient.
• Implementation of WHO ‘Best Buys’: EU member states should urgently implement WHO's evidence-based interventions to address NCD risk factors, offering significant health, social, and economic benefits.
• New EU Tobacco Control Framework:
  • Aim for less than 5% of the EU population using tobacco by 2040.
  • Strengthen measures to regulate marketing and extend standardised packaging and health warnings to all tobacco products.
  • Ban cross-border sales of tobacco products and e-cigarettes.
  • Strengthen taxation rules for all tobacco products.
  • Ensure full implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).
  • Enhance protection from second-hand smoke and support public space smoking bans.
• EU Strategy on alcohol consumption: A new strategy is needed to prevent and control alcohol consumption.
• Nutrition labelling and alcohol: Introduce a mandatory, front-of-pack energy labelling on alcohol; a mandatory list of nutritional contents and ingredients for all types of alcohol products.
• Marketing of alcohol and ultra-processed foods: Implement an EU-level ban on marketing targeting children and young people and set nutrient profiles to restrict high-fat, sugar, and salt (HFSS) foods.
• Green transition and air pollution: Greater action is needed to address air pollution and protect vulnerable populations.

The ECDA believes that addressing these issues through focused regulatory measures and investment in primary prevention can significantly impact public health across Europe.

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EU Council Conclusions on the Future of the European Health Union: A step forward for prevention of non-communicable diseases

ECDA congratulates the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU for adopting conclusions that include a strong commitment to preventative action against non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

The conclusions represent an important step forward in addressing the growing impact of NCDs on European populations, societies and economies. ECDA welcomes the promotion of preventative strategies and commends the Council’s recommendation to combat NCDs in a cross-sectoral and holistic manner.

In particular, the Conclusions call for tackling the root causes of NCDs and encourage Member States to promote healthy environments and communities, adequately address tobacco and alcohol consumption, and maintain focus on the psychosocial and mental health factors that contribute to high NCD rates. These aspects are particularly important to protect our current and future generations from developing a disease or complications from pre-existing conditions, and their right to live in good health. ECDA encourages greater investment in health promotion and disease prevention, including by leveraging fiscal policies to address socio-economic and environmental determinants of health, and related health inequalities.

Additionally, Conclusions call on the European Commission to address the marketing of harmful and addictive substances to children on social media platforms, to continue its commitment to Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, and to strengthen the work of the Healthier Together – EU Non-Communicable Diseases Initiative. These measures should be at the heart of the EU’s health action for the next years – in particular, the long-awaited revision of EU tobacco control policies, legislations on food and alcohol labelling need to be prioritized; and the Healthier Together initiative shall allow to advance the response to additional types of NCDs. A focus on the five main types with higher mortality rates and a heavy comorbidity burden is critical, yet lack of action to address other - often underestimated - NCDs impacts negatively overall efforts. Existing data gaps in certain disease areas can result in a misevaluation of the prevalence of these diseases or their burden, which has yet to be studied. Further, in some cases, mortality can be under-estimated as it only considers death from acute rather than long-term complications directly resulting from the condition.

Speaking on behalf of ECDA, chairman Raymond Vanholder stated, “Today’s adoption of the Council Conclusions is a significant recognition of the need to stimulate Europe’s efforts to reduce the prevalence of NCDs in our societies and commitment to achieve progress. ECDA thanks the Council for maintaining political focus and urgency on this issue and is confident that the recommendations provided will serve as actionable guidance to Member States in their efforts to build NCD-resilient communities and healthcare systems, ahead of the UN High Level Meeting on NCDs in 2025.”

Beyond underscoring the need for preventative measures, the Council Conclusions also highlight the link between public health and climate policy, pointing to climate change’s contribution to higher rates of NCDs and calling for increased efforts to decarbonize the EU health system. ECDA also strongly supports the Council Conclusions’ emphasis on research, particularly regarding the EU’s research agenda on the relationship between climate and health, and believes such research is vital to creating effective prevention policies and preparing for potential future health threats. ECDA encourages further research into the interactions between NCDs and into co-morbidities to address current knowledge gaps, and on the best measures to address the impact of co-occurring risk factors on people’s health, disease onset and premature mortality from NCDs.

As the Council leadership prepares to shift, ECDA encourages future Presidencies to maintain NCD prevention as a key cornerstone of their health agenda. By focusing on reducing not only the mortality but also the prevalence of NCDs, the next Council Presidencies can continue to make progress towards healthier communities, stronger workforces, and more resilient national healthcare systems. ECDA welcomes the efforts of the Hungarian Presidency in addressing cardiovascular health in the next 6 months with a strong focus on prevention.

Our Alliance looks forward to supporting Member States in implementing the conclusions related to NCDs and in furthering EU-level collaboration towards a Europe free of preventable NCDs and which provides the adequate health care to those affected, to improve their health outcomes and quality of life.

For further information:

• Belgian Presidency Website
• ECDA Recommendations to Advance NCDs Prevention and Management in the EU
• EU Council Conclusions on the Future of the European Health Union

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ECDA welcomes launch of WHO/Europe report on commercial determinants of NCDs

In an effort to highlight the variety of risk factors contributing to high rates of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) throughout Europe, ECDA applauds and supports WHO/Europe’s forthcoming report on commercial determinants of health. The report will be officially launched at a Brussels-based forum on 12 June, hosted by the Belgian Ministry of Health and led by Frank Vandenbroucke, Belgian Minister of Social Affairs and Public Health.

Commercial determinants of health, or the ways in which commercial sector actors, products, and practices impact health outcomes, are known to contribute to the rise of NCDs across the region and globally.

ECDA is concerned with the role that certain industry operators and practices play in increasing population exposure to the main risk factors and drivers of NCDs, contributing to higher rates of NCDs, particularly through the marketing and promotion of tobacco and alcohol products. ECDA seconds WHO/Europe’s warnings on this matter. Marketing practices on social media and online platforms, targeted towards the younger generations, is particularly alarming.

ECDA further supports WHO/Europe’s efforts to engage policymakers on the issue of NCDs and believes the forthcoming report will be a critical tool in promoting this dialogue.

To build an NCD-free Europe, integrated action at the EU level that targets not just mortality from NCDs, but also their prevalence and underlying causes is essential. ECDA looks forward to the upcoming presentation of WHO/Europe’s strategies for protecting the public from the harmful effects of commercial activities and calls on EU policy leaders to maintain political urgency to put a halt to actions that undermine the response to NCDs.

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ECDA calls for stronger measures to counteract increasing adolescent use of alcohol and tobacco across Europe

In the aftermath of the April 2024 WHO/Europe report highlighting the increased rates of tobacco and alcohol use amongst minors, ECDA underscores the heightened risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) associated with this consumption and calls on EU policymakers to pursue a robust plan of action to address this challenge.

WHO/Europe’s data suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic may be responsible for recent increases in excessive alcohol consumption and use of e-cigarettes among European, Central Asian, and Canadian adolescents ages 15 and up. The 2024 report states that 20% of surveyed 15-year-olds have experienced significant drunkenness and that around one-third have used e-cigarettes in their lifetime. The data further demonstrates that the gender gap in substance use has virtually disappeared, suggesting an overall increased rate of use among adolescent girls.

In light of these statistics, ECDA endorses WHO/Europe’s recommendation to ban alcohol advertisements on mainstream and social media and applauds WHO/Europe’s positive stance on implementing stronger taxation policies, such as minimum pricing and excise taxes, to combat rising alcohol use among youth. On the issue of tobacco use, ECDA supports the report’s recommendation to strengthen the existing enforcement mechanisms of current anti-tobacco laws and believes that addressing the threat posed by emerging tobacco products such as e-cigarettes is vital to promoting NCD-free societies.

ECDA stands with WHO/Europe in its efforts to draw attention to the detrimental effects of alcohol and tobacco and the need to construct a more extensive regulatory framework to combat this threat. Protecting and promoting adolescent health remains a critical component of any NCD prevention strategy, and ECDA strongly encourages policymakers to implement WHO/Europe’s proposed policies on this matter.

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World No Tobacco Day 2024

In the aftermath of World No Tobacco Day 2024, the European Chronic Disease Alliance supports WHO’s actions to date to address the tobacco epidemic and calls for increased efforts to educate the public regarding the health threats posed by tobacco products. This yearly celebration, created by WHO in1987, draws attention to the preventable illnesses and deaths caused by tobacco consumption and underscores the importance of taking robust action against tobacco to reduce the rates of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) among future generations.

To continue the efforts against tobacco consumption in Europe, ECDA calls on the European Union to focus its regulatory efforts on all types of tobacco products, especially novel and emerging products that are often marketed towards and consumed by youth. ECDA further calls on EU policymakers to ban the online sale of tobacco products and e-cigarettes, implement an excise tax on heated tobacco products, and work to ensure greater protection of EU citizens from the dangerous effects of secondhand smoke, and address the delay in tobacco legislation revision.

ECDA strongly supports WHO’s goal to reduce the prevalence of tobacco consumption in the EU to less than 5% by 2040 and welcomes the opportunity presented by World No Tobacco Day to recommit to the anti-tobacco mission. By implementing ECDA’s recommendations, EU policymakers can lead the way into a future free from tobacco-induced NCDs.

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