The European Chronic Disease Alliance sent a letter to Dr. Ursula Von der Leyen, President-Elect of the European Commission, to salute her commitments to climate action, to a full implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights and to the setup of a European plan against cancer, as defined in her political guidelines for the incoming Commission; and stress the importance of complementing these actions with dedicated policies addressing chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) as a whole.

The ECDA encourages the President-Elect to ensure that a considerable impetus is given to action in health, with a strategic approach embedding health considerations across sectors; and to improved prevention of NCDs.

The European Union has the means and the legal competence needed. This necessitates a composition and structure of the incoming European Commission that provides a dedicated “policy home” for health and political leadership. Health deserves political dedication from the highest levels.

The full letter is available here.