By Giedre Peseckyte | EURACTIV.com
24-11-2022 (updated: 24-11-2022 )
EP Plenary voting session. [Fred MARVAUX/EP]
The European Parliament on Wednesday (23 November) adopted a motion for resolution on the prevention, management and better care of diabetes in the EU, marking World Diabetes Day.
In the EU, 32 million adults are living with diabetes, numbers that are predicted to reach 35 million by 2030.
One hundred years on from the discovery of insulin, Wednesday’s all-rounder resolution called on the Commission and member states to demonstrate political commitment and set ambitious targets in order to “reduce inequalities between EU citizens and improve the care and quality of life of people living with diabetes”.
While there is no cure for diabetes, experts emphasise the importance of ensuring effective, accessible and uninterrupted treatments to reduce the risk of developing complications.
The authors of the resolution also emphasised the importance of data collection standardisation and highlighted the role of the Commission’s ‘Healthier Together’ initiative, launched in December 2021, which aims to prevent, manage and treat non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
“Data on diabetes and pre-diabetes is often lacking – and we are working to fill this gap,” Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said during a plenary debate on Monday.
The resolution calls on member states to develop, implement and monitor national diabetes plans and strategies with ”comparable milestones and targets”, in recognition of inequalities in public health strategies and care as well as access to healthy and sustainable food across member states.
The authors also emphasise the importance of upskilling care, as well as investing in research.
People living with diabetes must be put “in the driver’s seat” of their treatments thanks to the integrated care concept, a health expert told EURACTIV.
“This Resolution is an important signal to European citizens – and to diabetes patients,” Kyriakides told the Parliament on Monday.
The resolution was also met with praise by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) Europe. “This [is an] important step forward towards reversing the rising number of people living with diabetes (PwD), improving the management of diabetes and its complications, and addressing the inequalities and disparities in access to care and treatment in Europe,” IDF said in their press release.
The resolution has the potential to contribute to better health outcomes for millions of EU citizens living with diabetes, as well as with NCDs and other conditions, the authors urged.
“This year is particularly important and symbolic. On the centenary of the discovery of insulin, 10 years after the first European Parliament Motion of Resolution on diabetes, we finally have the resolution that emphasises the need for action,” Niti Pall, IDF Europe Chair. said.
“A lot needs to be done but this is definitely a very good start,” she added.
IDF Europe reaffirmed the need for the resolution to accompany and leverage EU initiatives such as ‘Healthier Together’, Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, the European Health Data Space, as well as global commitments through the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Ensuring that all people diagnosed with diabetes have access to equitable, comprehensive, affordable and quality management cannot be done without the use of data, according to a World Health Organisation expert.
The ‘Healthier Together’ initiative on NCDs, which has a 2022 budget of €156 million, “aims to help citizens to live healthy lives” in the words of Kyriakides.
“Through this initiative, we are helping member states to identify and implement actions to reduce the burden of major noncommunicable diseases,” the EU’s health chief said.
The Commission has also financed further joint actions to address risk factors related to diabetes and other NCDs.
Through Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe, the EU’s flagship research and innovation funds, funding is granted to researchers seeking to better understand both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.
[Edited by Nathalie Weatherald]
