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17.03.2025
JA PreventNCD Welcomes the Launch of the MEP Interest Group
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) remain one of the greatest public health challenges in Europe. It causes 80% of deaths in the EU and take up to 10% of the GDP spent on healthcare, yet only 3% of health budgets go to prevention, even though prevention could reduce the burden by up to 70%. In February, the Members of the European Parliament (MEP) Interest Group on Health Inequalities, Prevention and Risk Factors was launched. This marks a significant step forward in addressing the NCD challenges and advancing evidence-based policy measures to tackle the disease burden. The event was well attended by MEPs, representatives from Member States, the World Health Organization (WHO), and civil society. JA PreventNCD was represented by leader of Work Package on Regulation and Taxation, Arnfinn Helleve from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) and co-leader of Work Package on Sustainability, Gabrielle Schittecatte from Sciencano, Belgium. The interest group is led by a dedicated team of MEP Co-Chairs: • Vytenis Andriukaitis (S&D) • Manuela Ripa (EPP) • Vlad Voiculescu (Renew) • Ignazio Marino (Greens/EFA) • Aurelijus Veryga (ECR) • Ondřej Dostál (Non-attached) The JA PreventNCD project recognizes the critical role of political commitment in driving policy change. As Arnfinn Helleve, emphasizes: "Engaging with policy decision-makers at both the EU and Member State levels is essential for the success of the JA PreventNCD project. The newly established MEP interest group will be a key ally in our efforts. We hope to serve as a bridge between parliamentary groups and Member States to drive impactful policy change in NCD prevention." This initiative arrives at a crucial time when many public health policies face strong opposition from well-organized commercial interest groups. Industries with vested interests often lobby against regulatory measures designed to reduce alcohol and tobacco consumption, improve nutrition, and promote healthier lifestyles. Helleve underscores this concern: "There are many strong interest groups actively lobbying against policy initiatives aimed at preventing NCDs. Initiatives like the new MEP Interest Group are crucial to ensuring that public health policy discussions are protected from interference from commercial interests."
https://www.preventncd.eu/newsroom/news-updates/ja-preventncd-welcomes-the-launch-of-the-mep-interest-group/
07.03.2025
Advancing NCD Prevention: Key Takeaways from the Budapest ExCo Meeting
The first in-person meeting of the JA PreventNCD Executive Committee (ExCo) External Advisory Board (EEAB) meetings of 2025 were held on March 5-6, at the National Center for Public Health and Pharmacy (NNGYK) in Budapest, Hungary. These meetings are milestones for the project, bringing together work package (WP) leaders, the EEAB members and the project’s coordinators of cross-cutting themes, nutrition, physical activity, alcohol and tobacco to discuss progress, challenges and the way forward. Day 1: Strategic Discussions and Project Outcomes The meeting began with a warm welcome from Dr. Orsolya Surján, Deputy Chief Medical Officer at NNGYK, alongside Dr. Krisztina Biró Ministry of Interior, Department for Health Policy and JA PreventNCD coordinators Prof. Knut-Inge Klepp and Dr. Linda Granlund. The morning sessions focused on sustainability and best practices, with expert insights from the European Commission, WHO, and OECD on leveraging EU Best Practice Portals and WHO Best Buys for effective NCD prevention strategies. Presentations from Dr. Gauden Galea and Dr. Marion Devaux emphasized the importance of policy-driven, evidence-based approaches to public health challenges. Throughout the day, discussions covered key project outcomes and expected 2025 outputs, with leaders working on regulation and taxation, health in all policies, identifying individuals at risk, social inequalities, healthy living environments monitoring. Additionally, the participants discussed sustainability and long-term strategies for maintaining project impact beyond the Joint Action’s duration. Day 2: Evaluation, Communication, and Future Strategies Day two focused on project evaluation, covering key outcomes, methodologies, and plans for selecting implementation case studies. Later in the morning, updates on communication strategies, stakeholder mapping, and private sector involvement were shared, followed by a surprise segment and a group photo. The afternoon featured parallel meetings, with the ExCo addressing reporting, thematic coordination, and risk monitoring, while the EEAB held its own discussions. The meeting concluded with feedback from EEAB members, final reflections, and a discussion on the next steps for JA PreventNCD presented by the Chair of the Board Prof. Harry Rutter. Looking Ahead The Budapest ExCo and EEAB meetings reinforced the project’s commitment to advancing NCD prevention in Europe. With a strong foundation in place, discussions focused on how to move forward, improve strategies, and maximize impact. Work packages addressed previous feedback, fostering valuable reflections from the EEAB. Participants emphasized the importance of breaking silos, creating synergies, and aligning efforts across the initiative. As one of the largest EU4Health Joint Actions to date, JA PreventNCD aims to demonstrate meaningful impact by fostering collaboration, promoting high scientific quality, and ensuring coherence in objectives. The meeting served as a platform to evaluate progress, identify challenges, and explore solutions, laying the groundwork for the next phase of the project.
https://www.preventncd.eu/newsroom/news-updates/advancing-ncd-prevention-key-takeaways-from-the-budapest-exco-meeting/
03.03.2025
Maternal Health: Training Doctors in Ukraine
On February 4, 2025, the Public Health Center of Ukraine (PHC) held a training session titled "Motivational Interviewing Techniques" for doctors working with pregnant women. The training aimed to equip healthcare professionals with effective motivational interviewing methods to support healthy behaviors in pregnant women, particularly in promoting alcohol cessation and reducing other harmful habits. The event was organized and conducted by the Public Health Center of Ukraine, specifically experts from the Noncommunicable Disease (NCD) Prevention and Research Departments: · Natalia Usenko, Specialist, NCD Prevention Department · Yuliia Kotykovych, Lead Specialist, NCD Prevention Department · Kateryna Marushko, Lead Specialist, Research Department · Darina Pustylnyk, Specialist, NCD Prevention Department About the Training The training was led by Ihor Zastavnyi, Ph.D. in Medicine, Associate Professor at the UCU School of Public Administration, Board Member of the Ukrainian Academy of Family Medicine, and Master Trainer of the mhGAP program. Participants included doctors from healthcare facilities in Kyiv involved in the pilot program "Screening and Brief Interventions for Alcohol Use Among Pregnant Women": Kyiv Perinatal Center Kyiv City Center for Reproductive and Perinatal Medicine Kyiv City Maternity Hospital No. 1 During the session, participants learned about modern approaches to promoting healthy behaviors, studied the fundamentals of brief interventions and motivational interviewing, engaged in practical exercises to enhance their counseling skills, and completed a knowledge assessment test. Doctors also discussed real-life cases and received feedback from the trainer on the effectiveness of their applied methods. Why This Matters This training is part of the pilot program "Screening and Brief Interventions to Reduce Alcohol Use Among Pregnant Women", implemented under the European project JA PreventNCD, which aims to reduce the burden of cancer and other non-communicable diseases with financial support from the European Union. The importance of the initiative was highlighted by Oleksandr Yurchenko, Deputy Director General of the Public Health Center: "According to WHO data from 2023, alcohol consumption remains a pressing issue among adult women in Ukraine. Given this, as well as the absence of a unified national screening and intervention program for alcohol use during pregnancy, introducing a new counseling model is a necessary step toward reducing the risks of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) and improving the health of future mothers and children." The Public Health Center remains committed to supporting initiatives aimed at enhancing the competencies of healthcare professionals in disease prevention and health promotion. Training programs of this kind contribute to more effective patient counseling and foster healthier habits within the population.
https://www.preventncd.eu/newsroom/news-updates/maternal-health-training-doctors-in-ukraine/
06.02.2025
Together for Europe’s Health – strategic orientations and actions for public health
Poland assumed the presidency of the Council of the European Union on January 1, 2025, marking the start of a crucial six-month period where it will play a leading role in shaping the EU agenda. As part of its presidency, the Ministry of Health of Poland hosted the conference Together for Europe’s Health – strategic orientations and actions for public health, on January 16 in Warsaw. The conference provided an opportunity to explore innovative solutions, share best practices, foster international collaboration in healthcare, and discuss key challenges and opportunities in promoting health, preventing diseases, addressing the mental health needs of children and young people, and advancing the digital transformation of healthcare systems. This aligns closely with the objectives of JA PreventNCD, which supports EU Member States in strengthening policies to prevent non-communicable diseases (NCDs) through evidence-based approaches.
https://www.preventncd.eu/newsroom/news-updates/together-for-europe-s-health-strategic-orientations-and-actions-for-public-health/
31.10.2024
Making WHO European Region the Healthiest Online Environment for children: Restrict harmful marketing
JA PreventNCD is co-organizing the scientific session “Making WHO European Region the healthiest online environment for children: restrict harmful marketing”, along with WHO Euro and EUPHA, at the European Public Health Conference in Lisbon, November 2024. Marketing exposure, particularly towards children, remains a pervasive challenge, posing a significant threat to children's health and well-being. Despite WHO recommendations, few countries in the WHO European Region have introduced mandatory policies restricting marketing of unhealthy products to children. Furthermore, traditional monitoring tools struggle to keep up with automated and personalized advertisements, making reliable monitoring mechanisms and innovative tools urgently needed. The WHO Regional Office for Europe developed the KidAd platform to address this gap for a tool allowing objective and standardized monitoring of children’s exposure to digital advertising. Regional Adviser for Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity, Special Initiative on NCDs and Innovation, WHO Regional Office For Europe, Kremlin Wickramasinghe (Denmark) and Amandine Garde (EUPHA-LAW), Professor of Law at the University of Liverpool, United Kingdom, will co-chair this 60-minute scientific session. Among the speakers, Olga Zhiteneva, from WHO Europe will present Innovative tools from WHO Europe to protect children from digital marketing of unhealthy products, in particular the KidAd platform, a pioneering tool developed to address these modern challenges by providing an objective product to monitor various marketing materials. The Lead of Task 5.6, Maria João Gregório from the Portuguese Directorate-General of Health, will give an overview on Collaborative efforts of the Joint Action PreventNCD and the WHO Europe to protect children from harmful marketing, focusing on the concrete collaborative actions to support the implementation of the marketing regulation: On JA work with the Member States and especially presidency countries, to allow for the discussions on the development of the EU regulation for reduction of the harmful marketing; On the EU stakeholders positions regarding marketing regulation; On the collaborative actions in scaling up the KidAd app to detect alcohol, tobacco and nicotine-containing products marketing. Finally, Iveta Nagyova, from EUPHA, will identify evidence-based behavioural strategies such as nudges, choice architecture, and social norms that can influence healthier choices, thereby reducing the impact of harmful marketing, with the presentation Leveraging Behavioural Insights to Create Healthier Online Environment for Children.
https://www.preventncd.eu/newsroom/news-updates/making-who-european-region-the-healthiest-online-environment-for-children-restrict-harmful-marketing/
28.06.2024
JA PreventNCD participation at FILTERED Conference: Joint efforts to tackle the challenges of reducing NCDs
JA PreventNCD was present with several participants at the two-day conference “Challenging Big Industry Narratives: Alcohol, Tobacco, Unhealthy Food and Drinks - Population Measures and Policies”. The conference was organized by the action grant FILTERED (From sILos To synErgies to pRevEnt ncDs), with support from the Ministry of Health, Slovenia. At the conference, numerous topics relevant to JA PreventNCD’s work were discussed, including regulation of marketing, taxation, health warnings, awareness raising, conflicts of interest and commercial influences in policymaking processes. In the opening of the conference, the Slovenian Minister of Health, Denis Kordež, highlighted that the risk factors for NCDs are multisectoral in nature, and therefore require multisectoral responses. One such important response is addressing the commercial determinants of health. Several speakers and discussants stressed the need for joint efforts, across risk factors and across borders to counter industry efforts to avoid and delay regulations protecting public health. On the first day, Arnfinn Helleve, leader of JA PreventNCD’s work on Regulation and taxation (WP5), joined a panel, discussing opportunities for taxation of products harming health. In a session on the effects of health warning labels, Karine Gallopel-Morvan and Maj Berger Sæther, from the same WP, discussed evidence and national experiences regarding alcohol warning labels. Mojca Gabrijelčič leader of the JA PreventNCD work on sustainability (WP4) participated in discussions on awareness-raising campaigns for policy change, sharing experiences from the STOP project. Lastly, Dr Sandra Rados Krnel from Health in All Policies (WP9) participated in the discussion on implementing marketing restrictions on health-harming products. On the second day, Scientific Coordinator, Knut-Inge Klepp, joined a panel on navigating diverse definitions and meanings in the field of prevention. Klepp highlighted JA PreventNCD’s efforts to accelerate prevention activities along the entire causal chain, with a particular focus on population-based interventions addressing social and environmental conditions for health. Additionally, Urška Erklavec participated in the plenary panel discussion on “Forward Together: Exploring Future Partnerships and Collective Action”. The conference also featured a side event by representatives of the sustainability WP of JA PreventNCD. In the first presentation, Monika Brovč focused on sustainable development in policies and presented transition of the main three nutritional policies from JA Best-ReMaP to JA PreventNCD. Following this, Monika Robnik Levart shared insights from previous projects involving multistakeholder engagement and discussed sustainable planning, putting accountability cycle in the center, along with their vision about sustainability for JA PreventNCD. Jernej Trebežnik then presented some aspects of lobbying, advocacy, and accountability in public health, pointing out the unethical practices of the tobacco industry in Slovenia and abroad. The session concluded with Urška Erklavec's presentation on implementing social participation in health to make sure people's insights and lived experiences are considered when making policies with an aim to build trust and improve transparency in decision-making. Sara Cerdas, Member of the European Parliament since 2019, presented inspiring concluding remarks. Cerdas highlighted that despite resistance to legislative measures in the Parliament, science is on our side. With the two recent reports, forming important background documents for JA PreventNCD (European Beating Cancer Plan and the NCD report Healthier Together), large steps have been taken in the right direction. Her main message to the conference participants in moving forward was to increasingly speak to policymakers from other sectors than health, such as finance, agriculture, and environment. Secondly, to build a connection with the population by using data actively and language they understand, as well as to guide the politicians by using plain language. The participation of JA PreventNCD in the FILTERED conference underlined the importance of collaborative efforts on various topics addressing the challenges of reducing NCDs and effectively managing their main risk factors. The conference provided a unique opportunity for diverse stakeholders to network, debate and question critical issues. The insights, perspectives, experiences and strategies shared during the conference will enhance the JA PreventNCD’s ongoing work and the European efforts, driving impactful policy change to protect public health. To learn more about the conference, click here.
https://www.preventncd.eu/newsroom/partnerships-collaborations/ja-preventncd-participation-at-filtered-conference-joint-efforts-to-tackle-the-challenges-of-reducing-ncds/
28.05.2024
Tobacco Trade and Farming is Impeding the Achievement of SDGs
Introduction The JA PreventNCD initiative addresses the significant burden of cancer and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Europe. This initiative aims to support strategies and policies that reduce the prevalence of these diseases by focusing on both personal and societal risk factors. One key aspect of this project is the Health in All Policies Work Package, which integrates health considerations into policymaking across various sectors. Within this work package, a specific task focuses on alcohol and tobacco-related perspectives in relation to agricultural and trade policies. This task is crucial for understanding why it’s essential to implement evidence-based policies to prevent and reduce the harm caused by tobacco use and trade. Tobacco trade and farming pose serious threats to public health and impede progress toward many Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By advocating Health in All Policies, JA PreventNCD aims to develop a holistic strategy to mitigate the adverse impacts of tobacco globally and promote sustainable development. Tobacco Trade and Farming is Impeding the Achievement of SDGs The EU aims to use its trade agreements as tools to pursue sustainable development and encourage trading partners to uphold and improve environmental and human rights standards in their own countries as well as to mitigate climate change globally. However, this is not true concerning the liberalization of trade in tobacco products. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), across the globe, around 3.5 million hectares of land are converted for tobacco growing each year. Growing tobacco also contributes to deforestation of 200,000 hectares per year.1 Tobacco farming, production, consumption, and use are detrimental to both the surrounding environment as well as the health of farmers and tobacco users. With an annual greenhouse gas contribution of 84 megatons carbon dioxide equivalent, the tobacco industry contributes to climate change and reducing climate resilience, wasting resources, and damaging ecosystems.2 Free trade of tobacco is causing deforestation Currently, most of the tobacco products are imported into the EU market with zero tariffs and without quota restrictions through free trade agreements as well as trade preferences granted to developing and least developed countries.3 For example, concerning the free trade area between the EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, tobacco products can enter the EU market without paying tariffs or duties via the Economic Partnership Agreements. The Everything but Arms (EBA) scheme removes tariffs and quotas for the imports of all tobacco products coming into the EU from the least developed countries. EU member countries have not ratified the agreement with the Mercosur countries (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay) due to environmental concerns related to the deforestation of Brazilian rainforests. The destruction of rainforests is one of the driving forces to enact the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) — EU’s new regulation to curb EU market’s impact on global deforestation and forest degradation. The EUDR requires companies trading in cattle, cocoa, coffee, oil palm, rubber, soya, and wood to conduct extensive due diligence on the value chain to ensure the goods do not result from recent deforestation (post 31 December 2020), forest degradation or breaches of local environmental and social laws.4 Tobacco is also grown as a cash crop in more than 125 countries and is a major cause for deforestation. The EU is partly responsible for the deforestation as a major consumer and trader of tobacco products. EU member countries are major exporters and importers of tobacco products in the world.5 Why is tobacco not included in list of products under the EUDR? All forms of tobacco use are harmful According to the WHO, the tobacco epidemic is one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced, killing over 8 million people a year around the world. More than 7 million of those deaths are the result of direct tobacco use while around 1.3 million are the result of non-smokers being exposed to second-hand smoke.6 All forms of tobacco use are harmful, and there is no safe level of exposure to tobacco. Cigarette smoking is the most common form of tobacco use worldwide. Around 80% of the 1.3 billion tobacco users worldwide live in low- and middle-income countries, where the burden of tobacco-related illness and death is heaviest.6 Tobacco use contributes to poverty by diverting household spending from basic needs such as food and shelter to tobacco. This spending behaviour is difficult to curb because tobacco is so addictive. The economic costs of tobacco use are substantial and include significant health care costs for treating the diseases caused by tobacco use as well as the lost human capital that results from tobacco-attributable morbidity and mortality.6 Tobacco growing has numerous negative impacts in Africa With increasing tobacco controls in the developed world, Africa can be seen as the last frontier for the tobacco industry. Smoking prevalence here is still not high. Without effective tobacco control regulations, the market potential in Africa for the tobacco industry can be immense.7 Low labour cost, as well as the right climate conditions, make these African countries easy prey for the tobacco companies. The tobacco control community must be vigilant in this fight for Africa. There are numerous negative effects of tobacco growing in Africa on farmers’ income, child labour, gender, and food & nutrition security.7 Many tobacco farmers in Africa make very low profits or farmers are highly indebted because the price of tobacco leaf is low and mainly controlled by the tobacco industry through a stringent leaf grading system.7 Malawi has the highest occurrence of child labour with 78,000 children who work on tobacco estates, for long hours, with low pay and without protective clothing. In Uganda, tobacco growing communities have their children failing to start school, where 4 out of 10 boys never go to school and 6 out of every 10 girls never go to school because they have to provide labour to the tobacco farms all year round.8 Women and children are the main source of labour for tobacco growing, mostly done by hand, without any protective wear. Tobacco farming in Africa mainly survives on family labour, where women and children provide most of the labour to minimize costs because tobacco farming requires an average of 18 hours per farmer per day. The International Labour Organization revealed that children working on tobacco plantations/farms in Tanzania did not get adequate food, whereby out of 100 working children in the tobacco growing districts, only 19% had meals three times a day.8 Tobacco products should be excluded from the commitments of trade liberalization Overall, international trade of tobacco products and tobacco farming in Africa is impeding the achievement of many Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)9 — SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), SDG 13 (Climate Action), and SDG 15 (Life on Land). Therefore, trade preferences, bilateral and free trade agreements could positively contribute to the attainment of the SDGs together with tobacco control by excluding tobacco products from the commitments of trade liberalization. Tobacco must be included in list of products under the EUDR to mitigate climate change globally as well as to uphold and improve environmental and human rights standards, especially in Africa with the fastest growing population in the world. Author: Ellen Huan-Niemi, Senior Scientist, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) References 1 Geist, H.J. 1999. Global assessment of deforestation related to tobacco farming. Tobacco Control, 8:18–28. https://doi.org/10.1136/tc.8.1.18 2 WHO 2022. Tobacco is poisoning our planet #TobaccoExposed, Tobacco Free initiative. World Health Organization. Available at https://www.emro.who.int/tfi/news/tobacco-is-poisoning-our-planet-tobaccoexposed.html 3 EU Customs Tariff Database. Available at https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/dds2/taric/taric_consultation.jsp?Lang=en 4 EU Regulation 2023/1115 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 May 2023 5 World Integrated Trade Solution (WITS) Database. Available at https://wits.worldbank.org/trade/comtrade/en/country/ALL/year/2021/tradeflow/Imports/partner/WLD/product/240220 (top importing countries)https://wits.worldbank.org/trade/comtrade/en/country/ALL/year/2021/tradeflow/Exports/partner/WLD/product/240220 (top exporting countries) 6 WHO 2023. Key Facts, Tobacco. World Health Organization. Available at https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tobacco 7 Hu, T.W. & Lee, A.H. 2015. Commentary: Tobacco control and tobacco farming in African countries. J Public Health Policy, 36(1): 41-51. https://doi.org/10.1057/jphp.2014.47 8 Center For Tobacco Control in Africa 9 The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Available at https://sdgs.un.org/goals
https://www.preventncd.eu/newsroom/blog/tobacco-trade-and-farming-is-impeding-the-achievement-of-sdgs/