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06.10.2025
JA PreventNCD at the Slovenian National Public Health Conference 2025
At this year’s NKJZ Conference in Slovenia, there was a strong spotlight on the Joint Action PreventNCD (JA PreventNCD), having both a dedicated presentation session, as well as a dedicated project booth. Moderated by Mojca Gabrijelčič Blenkuš and Monika Robnik Levart, the session featured diverse presentations, including: Supportive environments for health as the foundation of disease prevention Evaluation of workplace health promotion and recommendations for future development Whole-school approach to health promotion Health promotion in academic settings with a focus on physical activity Expanding smoke-free environments to open and semi-open spaces Mechanism for meaningful youth engagement in European public health projects Corporate political activities of the food industry and their influence on nutrition policies Wellbeing economy as a sustainable tool for preventive action The first part of the session explored the role of environments in disease prevention and health promotion, while in the second part, concrete approaches and tools of JA PreventNCD for more effective policy implementation were presented. At the conference, there was also a JA PreventNCD’s dedicated project booth. There, the participants could discover more about the project’s goals and engage with the project team members. The presentations and dialogues shed importance of the project, raised awareness of the project’s goals and highlighted the importance of placing prevention at the forefront of public health discussions.
https://www.preventncd.eu/newsroom/news-updates/ja-preventncd-at-the-slovenian-national-public-health-conference-2025/
03.10.2025
Building healthier communities: a guide to local transformation
The Joint Action PreventNCD is developing 51 interventions —spread across 15 countries— to make living environments healthier places. This is one of the key commitments to tackling the incidence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Europe. Scientific evidence shows that scientific evidence shows that health is not only created in hospitals and doctors' offices, but also takes place in streets, schools, homes, urban spaces and in the social relationships we establish. Put simply, our health is determined by the environment we live and interact with on a daily basis. The collaborative work of communities with politicians and technicians from different municipal sectors such as urban planning, education, youth, etc. is absolutely essential when developing collective action to find common solutions to improve the health of the people and those facing diseases such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, or cancer living in this municipality, encouraging the proximity of the solutions. With the aim of catalysing a change in our living environments, the activities being carried out are focused on four action areas: establishment of child support communities and health services adapted to infants, facilitating access to healthier products, promoting healthier urban spaces and transforming environments to eliminate the presence of unhealthy products. This transformation permeates all stages of life and identify approaches to increase health equity among social groups. The complexity of coordinating such diverse actions —and in so many different places— requires a common methodology that harmonizes the work carried out in all the interventions. This approach will be summarised in the document A Guide to the Community Action Methodology and will be published in the Resources section of this website. It is a living working document that will be enriched with the experience gained during the implementation of the project. The guide will be published in a final interactive version on a capacity building platform together with the experiences of the different pilots in each step, the lessons learned, a selection of participative tools to help the work in each step and ready-to-use presentation slides. Overall, the goal is to become the decisive turning point in reducing the burden of NCDs.
https://www.preventncd.eu/newsroom/findings-reports/building-healthier-communities-a-guide-to-local-transformation/
23.09.2025
Youth Voices at the Heart of Europe’s Cardiovascular Health Plan
On 22 September, the Youth Advisory Group (YAG) of the JA PreventNCD took part in the European Commission’s online consultation on cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). The consultation was convened by DG SANTE as part of preparations for a new EU Cardiovascular Health (CVH) Plan. CVDs remain the leading cause of mortality in Europe, claiming over 1.7 million lives each year and costing the EU an estimated EUR 280 billion annually. The event gave young people living with or at risk of cardiovascular disease, as well as youth advocates, an opportunity to directly share their experiences and expectations with policymakers. The consultation, led by Antonio Parenti, director at DG SANTE, was framed around key questions from the European Commission, including how to support healthy lifestyles, ensure equal access to care, improve communication with young people, and shape a future EU prevention strategy. Youth delegates responded with lived experiences and concrete recommendations.
https://www.preventncd.eu/newsroom/news-updates/youth-voices-at-the-heart-of-europe-s-cardiovascular-health-plan/
19.09.2025
From Car Streets to People Streets: Health and Sustainability in Action
From 16 to 22 September, Europe celebrates the European Mobility Week, an initiative led by the European Commission that invites cities to rethink how we move and to discover healthier, more sustainable alternatives to private cars. Each year, hundreds of municipalities organize activities to promote walking, cycling, and public transport. Pilot actions such as temporary street closures or pop-up cycle lanes allow citizens to experience a different way of living the city. This week is not only about mobility: it is an opportunity to talk about health. Urban space and the way it is designed have a direct impact on quality of life. The air we breathe, the safety of our streets, or the opportunities for physical activity all depend on how transport and the city are planned. When cars dominate, pollution and noise increase, opportunities for walking and play decrease, and inequalities between neighborhoods deepen. In contrast, when active mobility and green spaces are prioritized, both physical and mental wellbeing improve, and the city becomes safer and more cohesive. It is in this context that the Joint Action on Cancer and other NCDs prevention – action on health determinants (JA PreventNCD) was created, co-funded by the EU4Health programme. More than 100 organizations from 25 countries are working together with a common goal: to prevent non-communicable diseases —such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, or diabetes— and to reduce health inequalities. One of the most relevant lines of work focuses on healthy urban environments, exploring how mobility and urban planning policies can help reduce risk factors while at the same time making cities more liveable. A concrete example of this approach is the transformation of spaces around schools. Several European cities are promoting so-called school streets: areas where motorized traffic is restricted or eliminated, at least during drop-off and pick-up times. These measures bring multiple benefits: they improve the air children breathe, reduce the risk of accidents, encourage families to walk or cycle, and turn the school environment into a calmer and safer place. They also open up opportunities for community use, such as educational or recreational activities in the street. JA PreventNCD is studying how these initiatives are being put into practice: which political and social factors make them possible, which obstacles appear, and what results they produce for health and wellbeing. The aim is to learn from experience and to provide useful recommendations for other municipalities, both in the Valencian region and across Europe. In this sense, the European Mobility Week is a perfect framework to show how local actions can contribute to broader goals. The pilot projects and car-free streets that take place during these days prove that it is possible to imagine and build cities differently. What begins as a public awareness activity can end up becoming a permanent policy with great impact on public health. Cities are home to more than 70% of Europe’s population, and this proportion continues to grow. Deciding what kind of cities we want is also deciding how we want to live. Choosing active mobility, cleaner air, and safe, green spaces means choosing a future with less disease and greater equity. The European Mobility Week reminds us that every step counts. Through JA PreventNCD, we work to ensure that these transformations are not isolated exceptions, but part of a coherent strategy to build healthier and more resilient cities. Cities where everyday journeys become a source of wellbeing rather than risk. Cities that put people at the centre, and make the right to health a shared reality. Author: Alejandro Parra Alejandro works at Fisabio in Valencia, Spain and is a member of the team that focuses on Healthy Living Environments (WP6) in JA PreventNCD. He leads the pilot on the mapping of the current interventions on car-free areas in the cities and/or around schools and other child settings, as well as school playgrounds redevelopments.
https://www.preventncd.eu/newsroom/cross-cutting-themes/from-car-streets-to-people-streets-health-and-sustainability-in-action/
15.09.2025
Statement from JA PreventNCD on the Call for Evidence to the EU cardiovascular health plan
This statement and recommendations from the The Joint Action Prevent Non-Communicable Diseases (JA PreventNCD) respond to the Call for Evidence−Ares(2025)6517618 for the Initiative EU Cardiovascular Health Plan (CVH Plan). JA PreventNCD is funded under the EU4Health programme and brings together 25 European countries with the common goal of reducing the burden of cancer and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs), focusing on both personal and societal risk factors. The project addresses health determinants through approaches ranging from policy interventions requiring cross-country and intersectoral collaboration to be effective, through national and local interventions promoting healthy living environments, to preventive care and risk detection, including personalized prevention. Reducing gender-related, socio-economic and geographical inequalities in health is a key priority. All measures aim to protect health equity of European citizens. Furthermore, to strengthen Member States’ abilities to respond to public health challenges, it is essential to have improved data and comprehensive monitoring systems, which include monitoring health inequalities such as those found in the European Cancer Inequalities Registry. To ensure population-level impact, JA PreventNCD was designed to address structural drivers at the population level in addition to targeting high-risk individuals. While interventions across the prevention spectrum are needed, interventions targeting individuals at risk tend to require more personal buy-in, with demands on cognitive and social resources. They therefore run the risk of widening inequalities. To improve health at a population level, it is vital that activities reduce, and with certainty do not increase, health inequalities. A health equity tool is therefore applied across interventions in JA PreventNCD to support the planning, implementation and evaluation of the project’s activities. JA PreventNCD is a unique EU investment in health promotion, NCD prevention and better equity outcomes across Europe, generating deliverables directly relevant for the CVD Plan: monitoring tools, tested best practices, policy recommendations and governance mechanisms. JA PreventNCD recommends that the interventions and initiatives below be included in the EU CVH Plan. These will contribute to lifelong prevention of CVDs and, in many cases, they will also reduce the risk of diabetes and obesity. The activities are evidence-based and supported by the Member States in the Consortium. This statement and recommendations build on inputs received from all work packages in JA PreventNCD. The recommended interventions are structured under three main areas: Early years health promotion and CVD prevention Reaching all by implementing population-level interventions Reaching individuals at risk and supporting personalized prevention
https://www.preventncd.eu/newsroom/policy-statements-recommendations/statement-from-ja-preventncd-on-the-call-for-evidence-to-the-eu-cardiovascular-health-plan/
01.07.2025
From evidence to impact: a united call for equity-driven and sustainable action on NCDs
JACARDI, JA PreventNCD, WHO Europe, OECD and the European Commission’s DG SANTE have published a joint Comment in The Lancet Regional Health, based on the findings of the newly published report ‘Avoidable mortality, risk factors and policies for tackling NCDs: leveraging data for impact’, by WHO Europe. The Comment underscores the critical role of cross-national collaboration in translating WHO findings into actionable policies, with a focus on equity, data-driven solutions, and integrated care pathways. These organizations call for an accelerated, harmonised and equity-driven European agenda on non-communicable diseases.
https://www.preventncd.eu/newsroom/press-releases/from-evidence-to-impact-a-united-call-for-equity-driven-and-sustainable-action-on-ncds/
24.06.2025
Highlights from the JA PreventNCD annual meeting in Katowice, Poland
The JA PreventNCD project is gaining momentum across Europe, with several concrete outputs already taking shape. The project annual meeting took place on June 16-17 in Katowice, Poland. While priorities are shifting in today’s complex landscape, the prevention of noncommunicable diseases remains a top priority. Tackling persistent health inequalities and addressing social and commercial determinants of health in a structural way were highlighted as urgent tasks. Partners also emphasised the need to institutionalise stakeholder, youth, and population engagement, alongside strengthening monitoring systems as a basis for prioritising action. Evaluation and sustainability work is advancing steadily, ensuring the long-term impact of this collaborative effort.
https://www.preventncd.eu/newsroom/news-updates/highlights-from-the-ja-preventncd-annual-meeting-in-katowice-poland/