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13.03.2026
Sleep as a Key Public Health Priority in the Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases
Sleep is increasingly recognised as a fundamental pillar of health, on the same level with nutrition and physical activity. At the same time, sleep is closely intertwined with stress regulation and broader physiological recovery processes. Adequate and regular sleep supports metabolic, cardiovascular, cognitive, and mental health, while insufficient or disrupted sleep is associated with an increased risk of several non-communicable diseases (NCDs). For this reason, sleep should not be treated as a secondary lifestyle factor but rather as a core component of prevention strategies aimed at reducing the burden of NCDs. Integrating sleep into public health agendas can therefore strengthen prevention policies and contribute to a more comprehensive approach to population health.
https://www.preventncd.eu/newsroom/blog/sleep-as-a-key-public-health-priority-in-the-prevention-of-non-communicable-diseases/
30.01.2026
Editorial: First 1.000 days of life
Why should Europe and public health systems invest in the first 1.000 days of life, from pregnancy to a child’s second birthday? What does this early window have to do with the development of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) decades later? The answer lies in a growing and compelling body of evidence: the foundations of lifelong health are laid well before birth. Since the 1980s, David Barker demonstrated the link between adverse conditions during fetal life and early infancy, particularly poor nutrition, and an increased risk of chronic diseases in adulthood, including cardiovascular disease and diabetes. This work laid the scientific foundations for what is now widely known as the “first 1,000 days” concept. The first 1.000 days represent a uniquely sensitive period in which biological, social, and environmental exposures interact to shape metabolic regulation, immune function, cognitive development, and health-related behaviours. Crucially, this phase also constitutes an extraordinary window of opportunity: expectant parents and caregivers are often highly motivated and receptive to revisiting their health-related choices to secure the best possible start in life for their babies. Investing upstream during this critical period is therefore not only a matter of child wellbeing; it is a strategic lever for preventing NCDs, reducing health inequalities, and strengthening the long-term sustainability of European health systems.
https://www.preventncd.eu/newsroom/editorials/editorial-first-1000-days-of-life/
23.01.2026
Healthier eating in schools and kindergartens
Early childhood is a critical window for establishing healthy eating habits that shape health and well-being across the life course. Dietary patterns formed during childhood and adolescence are strongly associated with the risk of non-communicable diseases later in life, making schools and kindergartens key settings for health promotion. Within JA PreventNCD, pilot interventions in Croatia and Slovenia are addressing food environments through integrated, participatory and community-based approaches. The main objective of croatian implementing sites is to put into practice and evaluate an integrated approach to address physical activity and food environments as main determinants of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in learning environments. Intervention into the school and preschool setting are based on activities from the national health promotion program Healthy Living. Two locations were specifically selected: Elementary School Milka Trnina in Zagreb County and Kindergarten Siget in the City of Zagreb. Kindergarten Siget was selected as implementation site for its size, diverse socioeconomic profile, and strong institutional and community capacity. Work is being developed by a multidisciplinary core group, including kindergarten staff, public health professionals, local authorities, as well as a teacher and a parent representative, ensuring effective coordination and community engagement.
https://www.preventncd.eu/newsroom/news-updates/healthier-eating-in-schools-and-kindergartens/
26.01.2026
Breastfeeding, most powerful shield in emergencies
Infants and young children are among the most vulnerable populations in emergency settings, where disruptions to essential services, unsafe water, overcrowding and heightened stress sharply increase the risk of malnutrition, diarrhea and respiratory infections. In these contexts, breastfeeding provides safe, accessible and immunologically active nourishment, protecting infants even when mothers face distress, displacement or limited resources. It becomes a vital life-saving practice. Beyond its biological value, breastfeeding is anchored in WHO and UNICEF global normative frameworks such as the Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding and the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes, which emphasise the need to protect, promote and support optimal feeding practices from birth. These documents recognise the right of every mother and child to accurate information, skilled support, and protection from commercial and social practices that may undermine breastfeeding. Despite its protective role, emergencies frequently witness the uncontrolled distribution of breast-milk substitutes, often donated without assessment, monitoring or guidance. Such practices can be dangerous, particularly when clean water, fuel, and sanitation are insufficient to prepare formula safely. There is a need for robust preparedness systems and community infrastructure capable of safeguarding optimal infant feeding practices before, during, and after emergencies. Preparedness is therefore a crucial component of resilience. In the framework of JA PreventNCD, these principles resonate strongly with the objectives of Healthy Living Environments, which focuses on creating healthy living environments through integrated, community-based interventions across the life course. Embedding Infant Feeding in Emergencies preparedness within JA PreventNCD’s work strengthens community resilience by ensuring that local health systems and social infrastructures are equipped to safeguard infant nutrition even during crises. This directly contributes to the overarching goal of promoting health equity and preventing non-communicable diseases from the earliest stages of life, particularly among vulnerable or marginalised groups. During 2025 actions have been taken to promote Infant Feeding Emergencies. Under the lead of Italian National Institute of Health, a training session was held in the municipality of Palestrina (Rome, Italy), integrated into a large-scale earthquake simulation and emergency camp. Around 30 participants, including emergency responders and volunteers, took part in the training, which provided them with basic knowledge and tools to address maternal and child nutrition in crisis contexts, in line with current international guidelines. This aim was further consolidated through the international online workshop “Infant Feeding in Emergencies: Strengthening Baby-Friendly Communities for Resilience and Preparedness”. The session framed infant and young child feeding in emergencies as a public health priority and a structural component of health system resilience, bringing together WHO, PAHO and international field experiences. Contributions highlighted good practices and operational tools from diverse emergency contexts, illustrating how breastfeeding support, appropriate management of breast-milk substitutes and the integration of infant feeding into community services and emergency plans can save lives and strengthen long-term health and equity.
https://www.preventncd.eu/newsroom/news-updates/breastfeeding-most-powerful-shield-in-emergencies/
25.01.2026
Baby-Friendly Community Health Services expanding all over Europe
Investing in the first 1.000 days of life, from pregnancy to a child’s second birthday, is important for immediate and long-term health. Therefore, the World Health Organization (WHO) stresses the importance of the protection, promotion, and support of breastfeeding, identified as one of the WHO’s Best buys –most cost-effective interventions– to tackle non-communicable diseases (NCDs). In women, breastfeeding reduces the risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and type II diabetes.. In children, breastfeeding supports healthy growth, optimal brain development and protection against overweight. Beyond health benefits, breastfeeding also has also been proven to reduce social inequalities, which is a key focal area of JA PreventNCD. Although breastfeeding is crucial for achieving a healthy population, breastfeeding rates in Europe remain lower than in any other continent. While nearly all women are biologically capable of breastfeeding, low breastfeeding rates demonstrate how breastfeeding practices are affected by environmental factors. Health determinants at multiple levels affect breastfeeding practices, but competent support from the health services plays a crucial role. Workplace conditions, social norms or marketing pressures influence whether families can start and continue breastfeeding, but, critically, competent support from the health services plays a crucial role.
https://www.preventncd.eu/newsroom/news-updates/baby-friendly-community-health-services-expanding-all-over-europe/
26.01.2026
JA PreventNCD kicks off its Stakeholder Group to strengthen collaboration and boost impact
JA PreventNCD held the first meeting of its Stakeholder Group on 22 January 2026, marking an important milestone in the project’s journey toward delivering stronger, more actionable prevention results across Europe. The Stakeholder Group brings together a diverse set of actors from the health sector and beyond to support the project’s work. Members will provide guidance, share expertise, and help ensure that JA PreventNCD outputs are relevant, practical, and widely communicated through professional networks and channels. As the project moves further into implementation and begins producing an increasing number of results and deliverables, the Stakeholder Group is expected to play a key role in helping those outputs reach the right audiences and have real-world impact. A first meeting focused on collaboration The session opened with a welcome and introduction from Sólveig Karlsdóttir, leader of the Communication and Dissemination work in JA PreventNCD, who also guided participants through an icebreaker and the purpose of the meeting. Sólveig highlighted the value of creating an organised and constructive forum where external stakeholders can contribute to the project’s direction and outcomes. The Stakeholder Group is designed to support JA PreventNCD not only by providing feedback, but also by strengthening the project’s ability to connect with decision-makers, practitioners, and wider networks across Europe. Introducing JA PreventNCD: aims, structure, and focus Participants were then introduced to JA PreventNCD’s overall mission and structure by Professor Knut-Inge Klepp, Scientific Coordinator of the project. JA PreventNCD is a large European collaboration working to strengthen prevention of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). The project has a strong focus on major risk factors including tobacco, alcohol, nutrition, and physical activity, reflecting areas where coordinated preventive action can have long-term benefits for population health. Knut-Inge described how the project is organised across multiple work packages and countries, and emphasised that meaningful prevention impact requires cross-sector collaboration and engagement at national and European levels. JA PreventNCD’s work is designed to support implementation and policy development through practical tools, outputs, and shared learning across participating countries. What is the Stakeholder Group and why does it matter? The purpose and structure of the Stakeholder Group were presented by Hugrún Snorradóttir, task leader for Stakeholder Analysis in JA PreventNCD. She explained that the Stakeholder Group has been created as a way to integrate stakeholder perspectives into the project’s work throughout its lifetime. This includes helping the consortium identify relevant challenges and opportunities, strengthening outputs with expert insight, and supporting communication and dissemination of results. A key feature of the Stakeholder Group is that it is designed to be flexible and topic-driven. Rather than following a one-size-fits-all model, the group allows JA PreventNCD to connect the right expertise to the right outputs at the right time. “The Stakeholder Group is an important bridge between JA PreventNCD and the wider community working on prevention across Europe. By inviting stakeholders to give targeted feedback on key outputs, we can strengthen the relevance and quality of what we produce. At the same time, stakeholders help us connect results to networks that can use them, share them, and build on them.” Hugrún Snorradóttir, leader of the Stakeholder Group in the JA PreventNCD. A stakeholder group with diverse expertise The Stakeholder Group brings together stakeholders from both health and other sectors to support the project’s objectives. This diversity is central to the group’s role, recognising that prevention requires collaboration that goes beyond public health institutions alone. Members of the group contribute by: Providing advice and feedback on project outputs and deliverables Sharing expertise linked to prevention priorities and cross-cutting themes Identifying challenges and opportunities relevant to the project’s objectives Supporting dissemination by sharing outputs through their networks and channels Strengthening connections with relevant European platforms and communities This approach is designed to create mutual value. Stakeholders have the opportunity to influence the development of outputs and ensure they reflect real needs in policy and practice. Meanwhile, the project benefits from external insight, guidance, and stronger reach beyond the consortium. Discussion: expectations and opportunities for engagement The agenda included a dedicated section on expectations for participation in the Stakeholder Group, followed by open discussion. Participants reflected on how stakeholder engagement can be most useful to the project in practice, including reviewing targeted outputs, identifying dissemination opportunities, and sharing perspectives from their own sectors and areas of expertise. The discussion also highlighted the importance of exploring both challenges and opportunities connected to the project’s objectives. These conversations will be developed further in future meetings, helping shape how JA PreventNCD outputs can support prevention efforts and policy development across Europe. Next steps: regular meetings and continued collaboration The meeting closed with next steps presented by Maruša Širk, the project’s Stakeholder Analysis task co-leader. The Stakeholder Group will meet again in the spring to further develop and discuss how to use the structure is efficiently and effectively as possible. Strengthening impact as outputs increase The first meeting of the Stakeholder Group marked the start of what will be an ongoing collaboration supporting JA PreventNCD’s work. As the project enters its later years and delivers more outputs, stakeholder engagement will become increasingly important. By connecting JA PreventNCD’s work with expert feedback and dissemination opportunities, the Stakeholder Group strengthens both the quality of results and the chances that they will be used in policy and practice. In doing so, the group supports a shared goal: advancing stronger, more coordinated prevention of NCDs across Europe.
https://www.preventncd.eu/newsroom/news-updates/ja-preventncd-kicks-off-its-stakeholder-group-to-strengthen-collaboration-and-boost-impact/
10.12.2025
Infant Feeding in Emergencies: Strengthening Baby-Friendly Communities for resilience and preparedness
Infants and young children are among the most vulnerable populations in emergency settings, where disruptions to essential services, unsafe water, overcrowding and heightened stress sharply increase the risk of malnutrition, diarrhea and respiratory infections. In these contexts, breastfeeding becomes a vital life-saving practice. It provides safe, accessible and immunologically active nourishment, protecting infants even when mothers face distress, displacement or limited resources. Beyond its biological value, breastfeeding is anchored in WHO/UNICEF global normative frameworks such as the Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding and the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes, which emphasise the need to protect, promote and support optimal feeding practices from birth. These documents recognise the right of every mother and child to accurate information, skilled support, and protection from commercial and social practices that may undermine breastfeeding. A rights-based perspective aligns with decades of evidence demonstrating that breastfeeding contributes to infant survival, reduces infection-related morbidity, and supports maternal health by lowering the risk of postpartum hemorrhage, maternal depletion, anaemia, and stress-related vulnerability, factors that become particularly critical during crises. Despite its protective role, emergencies frequently witness the uncontrolled distribution of breast-milk substitutes, often donated without assessment, monitoring or guidance. Such practices can be dangerous, particularly when clean water, fuel, and sanitation are insufficient to prepare formula safely. There is a need for robust preparedness systems and community infrastructure capable of safeguarding optimal infant feeding practices before, during, and after emergencies. Preparedness is therefore a crucial component of resilience. The Operational Guidance for Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies (OG-IYFE), developed through collaboration among several international agencies, including WHO and UNICEF, provides evidence-based guidance to support prevention, preparedness, and response efforts in emergency contexts. OG-IYFE aims to protect the nutritional health of infants, young children, and pregnant or breastfeeding women during crises by reducing the risks associated with inadequate feeding practices. Its recommendations are globally applicable and can be adapted to any type of emergency. In 2010, the World Health Assembly recommended that governments incorporate these guidelines into their emergency plans, emphasizing the importance of creating conditions that promote breastfeeding and, when necessary, the safe and regulated use of breast milk substitutes. This recommendation was reiterated in 2018, underscoring how timely, evidence-based support can significantly improve survival and well-being outcomes for infants and their families. To be effective, guidelines must be translated into concrete actions through technical, regulatory, and governance tools that engage a wide range of key actors: health services, local authorities, civil protection agencies, the media, associations, emergency responders, and the community. Knowledge of good nutritional practices and their consistent application must permeate at all levels of the emergency response system. Capacity-building based on WHO/UNICEF standards, including simulation exercises, observational checklists and structured debriefings, enhances the ability of volunteers and frontline workers to make informed decisions in realistic scenarios, supporting them in protecting, promoting and supporting breastfeeding while ensuring the safe, Code-compliant management of breast-milk substitutes. This approach strengthens local systems’ capacity to respond effectively to the needs of mothers and infants during emergencies. Within the Joint Action (JA) PreventNCD, these principles resonate strongly with the objectives of Work Package 6, which focuses on creating healthy living environments through integrated, community-based interventions across the life course. Task 6.5, dedicated to Baby-Friendly Community and Health Services, plays a strategic role in fostering environments that protect, promote and support breastfeeding and responsive caregiving. Embedding Infant Feeding in Emergencies preparedness within Task 6.5 strengthens community resilience by ensuring that local health systems and social infrastructures are equipped to safeguard infant nutrition even during crises. This directly contributes to WP6’s overarching goal of promoting health equity and preventing non-communicable diseases from the earliest stages of life, particularly among vulnerable or marginalised groups. The dissemination of IYCF-E competencies and experiences through an online workshop further supports this ambition. By engaging stakeholders in practical, scenario-based learning, the workshop enhances awareness of infant vulnerabilities in emergencies, improves coordination among services, reinforces adherence to the Code and consolidates the role of Baby-Friendly Community infrastructures in preparedness and emergency response. This contributes to a European learning ecosystem aligned with JA PreventNCD, enabling countries to harmonise approaches and strengthen local capacity. Through the first Task 6.5 online workshop on this topic, “Infant Feeding in Emergencies: Strengthening Baby-Friendly Communities for Resilience and Preparedness,” a dedicated space is provided to increase awareness of infant feeding challenges during emergencies and to share real experiences from countries worldwide. By offering an opportunity for discussion and reflection, the workshop helps reinforce safe, Code-compliant practices and supports the integration of IYCF-E considerations within Baby-Friendly Community approaches. In doing so, it aligns with the broader commitment to fostering a more consistent understanding and strengthening local capacity. Overall, protecting, promoting and supporting breastfeeding in emergencies is a high-impact, equity-enhancing public health measure. Integrating IYCF-E within Baby-Friendly Communities, as envisioned in Task 6.5 of Work Package 6, ensures that resilience and infant protection become structural components of local health environments. Investing in these measures improves maternal and child health, reduces preventable morbidity and contributes to long-term prevention of non-communicable diseases across Europe. Authors: Vincenza Di Stefano¹, Francesca Zambri¹, Anne Bergljot Bærug², Ann-Magrit Lona², Hanne Christine Mosand Bliksås², Flavia Splendore¹, Annachiara Di Nolfi¹, and Angela Giusti¹ – Coordination team of Task 6.5 “Baby Friendly Community & Health Services” of the Joint Action PreventNCD. ¹ Italian National Institute of Health² Norwegian Directorate of Health
https://www.preventncd.eu/newsroom/events/infant-feeding-in-emergencies-strengthening-baby-friendly-communities-for-resilience-and-preparedness/