The European Parliament is ambitious to improve the lives of people with diabetes – EURACTIV.com
On Wednesday (November 23), the European Parliament adopted a draft resolution on the prevention, management and better care of diabetes in the European Union on the occasion of World Diabetes Day.
32 million adults in the EU are living with diabetes and this figure is expected to reach 35 million by 2030.
A joint resolution adopted on Wednesday, 100 years after the discovery of insulin, asks the Commission and Member States to demonstrate their political commitment and set ambitious targets. “Reduce inequalities among European citizens and improve care and quality of life for people with diabetes”.
Although diabetes is incurable, experts emphasize the importance of developing and sustaining effective and affordable treatments to reduce the risk of diabetes-related complications.
The authors of the resolution also recalled the importance of standardizing data collection and highlighted the role of the Commission’s “Healthier Together” initiative, launched in December 2021, which aims to prevent, manage and treat non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
“Diabetes and pre-diabetes information is often missing, so we are working to correct this gap”Health and Food Safety Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said during a plenary debate on Monday (21 November).
The resolution calls on Member States to develop, implement and monitor national diabetes plans and strategies. “Similar steps and goals”. The Resolution also recognizes the disparities that exist between Member States in terms of public health and strategies, as well as access to healthy and sustainable food.
In addition, the authors emphasize the importance of continued education in care as well as investment in research.
The resolution is welcomed
“This resolution sends an important message to European citizens as well as to diabetes patients”Ms Kiriakides told parliament on Monday.
International Diabetes Federation (IDF) Europe also welcomed this resolution.
“This is an important step to reduce the number of people suffering from diabetes, improve the management of diabetes and its complications, and address inequalities and disparities in access to care and treatment in Europe.”– says the IDF in its press release.
The authors of the resolution emphasize that this can contribute to improving the health of millions of European citizens suffering from diabetes, NCDs and other health problems.
“This year is particularly significant and symbolic. “On the 100th anniversary of the discovery of insulin and ten years after the European Parliament first proposed a resolution on diabetes, we finally have a resolution that highlights the need to take action.”– said Niti Pall, President of IDF Europe.
“We still have a long way to go, but this is certainly a very good start”he added.
IDF Europe reiterated that the resolution should accompany and build on EU initiatives such as Health Together, the European Plan to Fight Cancer, the European Health Information Space, as well as global commitments through the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Actions of the commission
“Healthier Together” initiative on NCDs with a budget of 156 million euros for 2022, “Aimed to help people lead healthy lives”as Ms. Kiriakides points out.
“Through this initiative, we are supporting member states to develop and implement measures to reduce the burden of the most common non-communicable diseases”EU health official said.
The Commission has also funded other joint actions to address risk factors for diabetes and other NCDs.
Through Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe and the EU’s leading funds for research and innovation, funding is provided to researchers working to better understand type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
