The meeting brought together representatives from the Spanish Ministry of Health, public administrations, professionals, researchers and organisations from across the country to strengthen collaboration on health promotion and the prevention of non-communicable diseases.
The JA PreventNCD National Meeting: From Health Promotion to the Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases took place on 28 September at the Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid, bringing together representatives from public administrations, health professionals, researchers and organisations involved in health promotion and the prevention of non-communicable diseases.
The meeting was organised by the Spanish partners of the European Joint Action JA PreventNCD: the Subdirectorate-General for Health Promotion, Prevention and Equity of the Spanish Ministry of Health; the Foundation for the Promotion of Health and Biomedical Research of the Valencian Community (Fisabio); the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO); the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN); and the Marqués de Valdecilla Research Institute (IDIVAL).
The event aimed to strengthen collaboration with stakeholders from different sectors involved in health promotion beyond the Health sector itself.
From the opening addresses at the event.
Available both in person and online, the meeting provided a space to share experiences developed within JA PreventNCD, discuss common challenges and explore new opportunities for collaboration. Discussions also addressed the role of public policies and living environments in tackling the social determinants of non-communicable diseases.
The programme showcased work being carried out in Spain across a range of prevention areas. These included the promotion of healthier living environments, support for breastfeeding, the creation of environments that help prevent tobacco and alcohol use, improving access to health services with a particular focus on reducing inequalities, and strengthening information systems related to cancer and other non-communicable diseases.
The Madrid meeting also highlighted the value of bringing national stakeholders together around a shared prevention agenda. Effective prevention requires collaboration across institutions, sectors and areas of expertise, including between organisations working within JA PreventNCD and those contributing to related work outside the Joint Action.
Lluís Pascual, JA PreventNCD Communication Officer for Spain
National meetings such as this provide an opportunity to make ongoing work more visible, exchange experience, identify areas of overlap and strengthen coordination between people working towards similar goals. By creating stronger links between project activities and the wider national prevention community, they can also help build partnerships and structures that continue beyond the lifetime of this project.
“Bringing so many people working on prevention together in one place was a real success. It helped to connect key professionals and organisations working towards the same goals across Spain while raise awareness of the JA PreventNCD actions . The more we can connect our work nationally, the stronger our collective contribution to prevention will be,” said Lluís Pascual, JA PreventNCD Communication Officer for Spain.