“It is important to understand all the parameters that influence the competitiveness of a society, which is not economic growth alone, but also the health and wellbeing of individuals.”
This was a key message that emerged in the Slovenian national stakeholder forum.
On 11 March 2026, the National Institute of Public Health organised the National Stakeholder Meeting of the JA PreventNCD, aimed at presenting the activities of the Joint Action from the Slovenian side and exchanging knowledge among key national stakeholders in the field of preventing non-communicable diseases.
The event programme followed several thematic segments. In the introductory part, it included a keynote lecture on the use of quantitative models and artificial intelligence in evaluating public health policies, as well as presentations of the objectives and activities of the JA PreventNCD. The discussion highlighted the importance of high-quality, connected data systems, which are essential for informed decision-making.
This was followed by presentations of individual thematic work packages of the Joint Action, with emerging key messages:
- Tobacco, nicotine, and alcohol: legislation works only if it is properly enforced.
- Public food procurement: a powerful tool for population change.
- Breastfeeding-friendly communities: there is still a spread of misinformation.
- Cancer monitoring: improved data integration enables better understanding of costs, disease pathways, and recurrence.
- Sleep as a public health issues highlights sleep as a key pillar of health.
- Healthy communities: local pilot initiatives such as healthy food in kindergarten, shows that change can start at the community level.
- Youth engagement: the Youth Advisory Group demonstrates that youth can be active contributors in the effort of reducing the burden of non-communicable disease.
The event concluded with a presentation of work on the sustainability of the project, which places particular emphasis on the concept of the wellbeing economy – with the aim of creating measures that promote quality of life while not exceeding planetary capacities.
During the event, participants acknowledged and encouraged the importance of work on the prevention of non-communicable diseases and the promotion of healthy lifestyles through measures to reduce tobacco use, alcohol consumption, unhealthy food consumption, and by encouraging physical activity. Only with shared societal effort, there can be a real lever for change.
The event successfully brought together key stakeholders of the Joint Action and highlighted the importance of coordinated measures for the prevention of non-communicable diseases at the European, national, and regional levels of Member States.