Prevention Pays: OECD-EU Policy Brief Highlights the Value of Tackling NCDs

A new OECD-EU policy brief, The benefits of addressing non-communicable diseases in the EU: Healthier lives, stronger societies, was launched during the Wellbeing Economy Forum 2026 in Reykjavík, as one of the key policy highlights of this year’s programme.

Bringing together senior voices from the European Commission, the OECD, the Icelandic government and JA PreventNCD, the session focused on the health, social and economic case for stronger prevention of non-communicable diseases. The discussion was chaired by Knut-Inge Klepp,  Scientific Coordinator of JA PreventNCD at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. It featured a virtual address by Sandra Gallina, Director-General for Health and Food Safety at the European Commission; opening remarks from Michele Cecchini, Head of Public Health at the OECD; and a panel discussion with Marianne Takki, Head of Unit for Disease Prevention and Health Promotion at the European Commission, Michele Cecchini, and Ásta Valdimarsdóttir, State Secretary at the Ministry of Health in Iceland.

The launch brought one of the central messages of the Wellbeing Economy Forum into sharp focus: prevention is not only a health priority. It is also an investment in stronger societies, more sustainable health systems and long-term wellbeing.

Non-communicable diseases remain one of Europe’s greatest health and societal challenges. The OECD-EU policy brief focuses on four major NCDs: cancer, cardiovascular diseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and diabetes.

According to the brief, these four diseases account for 46% of premature deaths in the EU. Their impact also extends beyond health, contributing to mental ill health, reducing productivity, lowering wages and increasing pressure on health systems and public finances.

The economic case is striking. OECD modelling estimates that eliminating these four NCDs would reduce health spending by 40% and contribute to an average 3.9% increase in annual GDP across the EU over the period 2026 to 2050.

These figures underline that the burden of NCDs is not limited to health systems. It affects families, communities, workplaces, public budgets and the wider economy.

A central message of the policy brief is that much of the NCD burden is avoidable, and that prevention delivers larger health and economic benefits than improvements in disease management alone.

The OECD analysis compares the potential benefits of improving disease management with the benefits of reducing key risk factors. While better treatment and care remain essential, the brief finds that aligning key risk factors to the top 25% of OECD and EU countries would deliver substantially larger reductions in premature mortality and stronger economic benefits.

If all EU countries achieved top-quartile levels on key risk factors, premature mortality would be 11.5% lower, corresponding to almost 150,000 fewer premature deaths each year. Annual GDP would be 1.4% higher, and health expenditure would be 4.6% lower.

By contrast, improving patient management for cancer and cardiovascular diseases would reduce premature mortality by about 5% and increase GDP by around 0.1%.

The message is clear: while effective care remains vital, preventing disease before it occurs offers broader benefits for health, wellbeing and the economy.

In her virtual address, Sandra Gallina underlined the importance of prevention in responding to Europe’s growing burden of non-communicable diseases. She highlighted how NCDs affect not only health outcomes, but also how people live and work, while placing pressure on families, communities, health systems and economies.

She also connected the discussion to current EU action, including the Healthier Together initiative on non-communicable diseases, Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, the Safe Hearts Plan on cardiovascular health, the Commission’s work on mental health, and EU support for JA PreventNCD.

Reflecting the wider message of the Wellbeing Economy Forum, she closed with a strong call to keep prevention at the centre of Europe’s health agenda:

“Prevention, prevention, prevention. That is how we really find success.”

Her message reflected the wider spirit of the Forum: prevention must be approached collaboratively, across Europe and across sectors, if societies are to build healthier and more sustainable futures.

The OECD-EU policy brief identifies three interconnected pillars for successful NCD prevention strategies.

First, individuals need access to information, education and support that enable healthier choices. Second, environments must be shaped so that healthier choices are easier, more accessible and more affordable. Third, health systems must be responsive and able to deliver prevention as well as care, including through stronger primary care, early detection and long-term management.

This approach strongly aligns with JA PreventNCD’s focus on health determinants, risk factors, equity, Health in All Policies and the creation of healthier environments.

It also reflects a key point repeated throughout the Wellbeing Economy Forum: wellbeing is shaped by the systems, policies and environments in which people live, learn, work and age.

The launch of Healthier lives, stronger societies provided a timely reminder that prevention should be understood as a long-term investment.

For JA PreventNCD, the policy brief is highly relevant to the work taking place across the Joint Action, from healthier living environments and risk factor prevention to Health in All Policies, equity, monitoring, policy development and stakeholder engagement.

The evidence presented in the brief strengthens the case for acting earlier, investing smarter and designing policies that make health and wellbeing easier to achieve across society.

As the session in Reykjavík highlighted, the challenge is no longer only to show that prevention matters. The challenge is to turn the evidence into sustained action, across sectors, across countries and across policy agendas.