## The PHSSR puts NCDs on the agenda at the European Parliament

The Partnership for Health System Sustainability and Resilience (PHSSR) held a high-level meeting on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) at the European Parliament, Brussels, in November 2023.

[READ THE REPORT HERE](https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_PHSSR_EU_Expert_Advisory_Group_Report_NCDs_2023.pdf)

NCDs place enormous pressure on health systems globally, causing 41 million deaths each year.(1) These chronic conditions are responsible for 80% of the disease burden in EU countries, and the personal and financial toll is expected to grow.(2) Yet many of these conditions can be prevented through the management of common risk factors.(3) Health promotion and disease prevention could reduce the burden by as much as 70%.(2)  With the EU elections taking place in June 2024, there is a window of opportunity to place NCDs on the political agenda, raise awareness of the challenges they pose to health systems and identify strategies that could help address this mounting issue. The recent event aimed to catalyse efforts by bringing together leading voices in the NCD and health system sustainability space, and marked the launch of the inaugural NCD policy report authored by the PHSSR EU Expert Advisory Group. Watch a recording of the event below.Opening remarks were provided by the PHSSR EU Expert Advisory Group Co-Chairs, Dr Tomislav Sokol MEP (EPP, Croatia) and Professor Elias Mossialos, Brian Abel-Smith Professor of Health Policy at the London School of Economics (LSE) and Director of LSE Health. Dr Sokol provided an overview of the challenge and shared his belief that the NCD policy report forms a solid foundation for a new age of NCD care. Professor Mossialos described the growing role of the EU in healthcare policy and funding, making EU institutions increasingly important stakeholders in the creation of effective health systems. Dr Josep Figueras, Director and Co-Founder of the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, reinforced why taking early action on NCDs matters and Pedro Facon, Deputy CEO, National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance of Belgium, provided his perspective on how the upcoming Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU is looking to support Member States to improve this area of healthcare.  The PHSSR’s NCD policy report provides a vision for a comprehensive approach to NCDs at an EU level and a solid foundation that can form the bedrock of all EU-level health policy decisions going forward, based on research into the sustainability and resilience of ten EU Member States’ health systems. Professor Mossialos presented the following seven key recommendations outlined in the report: Increase and ensure sustainable, dedicated EU investment in prevention and early detection of NCDs under the next Multiannual Financial Framework; Improve available data on NCDs, including by tasking an existing EU agency to carry out surveillance of NCDs across the Union; Ensure the implementation of the European Health Data Space includes data infrastructure to enable successful prediction and detection of NCDs; Undertake comprehensive evaluations of prevention and early detection interventions to inform EU and Member State policymaking; Update the 2012 Action Plan for the EU Health Workforce and improve incentives for healthcare professionals to specialise in public health and health data science; Align the EU air quality standards with the WHO Air Quality Guidelines, incorporating robust monitoring and enforcement mechanisms; Create action plans addressing NCDs with a high and preventable burden, such as cardiovascular diseases, taking into account common risk factors across NCDs.A national perspective on how these recommendations could be applied in Greece was presented by Professor Kostas Athanasakis, Assistant Professor in Health Economics and Health Technology Assessment, Department of Public Health Policy, University of West Attica. The recommendations were then discussed in detail by an Expert Panel* covering a multitude of topics, including: The EU’s duty of care to address the growing burden of NCDs, including initiatives already underway; The importance of incentivising and helping Member States to prioritise prevention and early action strategies at the national level; The ongoing impact of workforce issues, climate change, ageing populations, and the activities of other sectors; The need to provide policymakers with evidence and data demonstrating that these targeted recommendations will provide a return on investment. With a little help from ChatGPT, Jan-Willem Scheijgrond, Global Head of Government and Public Affairs, Philips and Dr Sokol summarised the takeaway message – it is clear that acting early on NCDs will have far-reaching benefits. Not only will prevention and early intervention improve the lives of people around the EU – at the population health level, it has the potential to reduce the pressures on health systems and their workforces, to reduce the financial burden of health systems, to impact economies by improving population productivity and even lessen the environmental impact of health systems.  The PHSSR hopes that the focus on NCDs will continue beyond this event, to help shape Europe’s health systems of tomorrow.


## *Expert panel

Professor Elias Mossialos, Brian Abel-Smith Professor of Health Policy at the London School of Economics (LSE) and Director of LSE Health, Co-Chair of PHSSR EU Expert Advisory Group. Artur Furtado, Head of Unit, Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, DG SANTE, European Commission.  Professor Philip Haywood, Former Policy Analyst, Health System Resilience, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Member of PHSSR EU Expert Advisory Group. Susanna Palkonen, Director, European Federation of Allergy and Airways Diseases Patients’ Associations (EFA), Member of PHSSR EU Expert Advisory Group. Professor Raymond Vanholder, President, European Kidney Health Alliance (EKHA), Chair, European Chronic Disease Alliance (ECDA), Member of PHSSR EU Expert Advisory Group. Stefan Woxström, Senior Vice President, Europe & Canada, AstraZeneca.


## About the Partnership for Health System Sustainability and Resilience  

The Partnership for Health System Sustainability and Resilience (PHSSR) is a non-profit, global collaboration between academic, non-governmental, life sciences, healthcare, and business organisations with a unified goal to improve global health by building more sustainable and resilient health systems for the future.  The PHSSR seeks to facilitate cross-border and cross-sectoral collaboration to accelerate the strengthening of health systems by enabling international knowledge exchange and collaboration with health system stakeholders.  To learn more about the PHSSR, its findings and recommendations please visit www.phssr.org and follow us on LinkedIn to receive regular updates.    For queries or further information regarding this event, please contact the PHSSR EU Expert Advisory Group’s secretariat at: euphssr@edelmanadvisory.com1 World Health Organization. (2023). Noncommunicable Diseases. Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/noncommunicable-diseases (Accessed 29 November 2023) 2 European Commission. (2023). Non-communicable diseases: Overview. Available at: https://health.ec.europa.eu/non-communicable-diseases/overview_en (Accessed 29 November 2023) 3 The BMJ. (2019). Solutions for non-communicable disease prevention and control. Available at: https://www.bmj.com/NCD-solutions (Accessed 29 November 2023)