“Healthier Together”- The EU initiative on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) was launched in December 2021 to help EU countries reduce the burden of NCDs and improve the citizens’ health and well-being by reinforcing the support for action of the EU countries and relevant stakeholders in this area.
This is the first time that the European Commission addresses the main NCDs in such a systematic and ambitious way. It addresses four main strands:
- cardiovascular diseases
- diabetes
- chronic respiratory diseases
- mental health and neurological disorders
Fifth horizontal strand on health determinants applies to health promotion and prevention of all major NCDs.
The focus is on implementation of actions based on Member States’ priorities. It is a major opportunity to generate impact on a key area of health burden and address EU countries’ needs.
The EU non-communicable diseases initiative document is being co-created with the Member States through a formal expert group – the NCD sub-group created under Steering Group on Health Promotion, Disease Prevention and Management of Non-Communicable Diseases (SGPP).
In parallel, relevant stakeholders provide their input to the initiative following a dedicated discussion calendar. Other Commission services, the World Health Organization (WHO), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) are also being consulted.
