A message from our Chair Dr. Niti Pall
Dear friends and colleagues,
As we go into the eighth month of the global pandemic, we are all starting to get a bit tired of the restrictions imposed on our daily lives as well as the very different way in which we access our health services. And still, in most European countries, the numbers are on the up again and the pandemic does not show any sign of abating. Many countries are now looking at how to maintain routine and emergency care whilst dealing with COVID at the same time. At IDF Europe we continue to advocate for services that meet the needs of our members as well as stay front and centre of the policy debate.
And September was a busy month. Health is increasingly, and rightly so, taking centre stage in all debates, at all levels. In his address at the 70th session of the Regional Committee held on 14-15 September, Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, highlighted that “68% of Member States reported a disruption to services for non-communicable diseases, including monitoring of diabetes”. To respond to this challenge, WHO Euro has adapted its European Programme of Work 2020-2025 although the key priorities remain the move towards universal health coverage, providing greater protection against health emergencies and ensuring healthy lives and well-being for all. We welcome this programme of work, which has the potential to reduce inequalities in Europe and we will continue to work closely with WHO Europe to foster more action on diabetes.
On the next day, in her State of the Union address, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, called for a stronger European Health Union, while the European Parliament had reiterated a few days earlier its intention to fight to maintain adequate funding for Horizon Europe and the EU4Health Programme. At IDF Europe we share the Commission’s determination to “learn the lessons from the crisis and to get ahead of the great acceleration of change in order to shape a fairer, healthier, greener and more digital society”.
With health so high on the agenda, there is a unique opportunity to unite the voice of people living with diabetes and engage all stakeholders in calling for a systemic transformation of healthcare systems towards more integrated, patient-centred and outcomes-based models that will hopefully mark a step change in the quality of life of people living with diabetes.
Dr. Niti Pall - Chair, IDF Europe
IDF EUROPE'S DIABETES & COVID-19 SURVEY
The last few months have been challenging for all of us. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge negative impact on the world, and has especially exposed the cracks in our healthcare systems. Our present is still challenging and there is much uncertainty about the future.
For this reason, IDF Europe launched two surveys (one addressed to healthcare professionals, one addressed to people living with diabetes) to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the diabetes community. Both surveys are available in 20 languages.
If you are a healthcare professional, please take the survey to let us know how the crisis has affected the way you managed the care of people living with diabetes and what needs to be done to ensure health systems are resilient in the future. If you are a person living with diabetes, please take the survey to let us know what effect the pandemic has had on your life. We will collect the data and develop a set of policy recommendations that we will present to national and pan-European policymakers.
Please, share the surveys with all your connections. We need a critical mass to call for changes! You have time until October 20 to give your precious contribution and take the survey.
IDF Europe's symposium at EASD
IDF Europe’s symposium took place virtually on September 21 from 14.30-15.30 CET, and focused on the evolving role of the diabetes nurse across Europe. The discussion centred around the need for more leadership programmes, the ‘digital transformation’ and how diabetes nurses can harness it, and the importance of training the diabetes nurse to individualise treatment according to the needs of the person living with diabetes.
Youth Leadership Lab: September Updates
The Youth Leadership Lab (YLL), IDF Europe's online-based youth leadership development programme, has reached its cruising speed and is successfully taking place every two weeks. The topics of the last sessions were healthcare systems and access to diabetes care across Europe, the importance of communication and project management.
IDF EUROPE’S REGIONAL COUNCIL AND TEAM MEETING TO TAKE PLACE VIRTUALLY IN 2020
Reflecting the impact of COVID-19 across Europe, and ongoing uncertainties around the organisation of live events, the IDF Europe Board took the decision to hold both the Regional Council and the TEAM meeting online. The TEAM meeting will take place on 22 October between 15.00-16.30 CET as an “Ask your Board” session where Members will be invited to exchange ideas and ask questions to the IDF Europe Board and fellow IDF Europe Members. The Regional Council will be held on 24 November between 15.00-16.30 CET. More information on the organisation of these meetings will be shared shortly.
MEMBERS
To promote member news closer to the time when they happen, the Member News section of the newsletter has now been moved to a dedicated page on the IDF Europe website. All members are invited to inform us of their planned events, as well as to share with us a summary and photos of the events after they have taken place, at news@idf-europe.org. As of September 2020, member news have also been promoted through IDF Europe’s social media channels for improved visibility.
ANIAD Bike Tour - "Tour Ruote Blu 2020"
From September 6 to September 11, ANIAD led the “Tour Ruote Blu 2020”, a six-stage mini-tour for 14 non-professional cyclists with Type 1 Diabetes coming from different regions in Italy. The main goals of the initiative were to encourage everyone to use exercise and sports as a powerful tool to lower the risk of developing diabetes and to manage the condition, and to explain the health risks associated with sedentary lifestyles. Read more here.
Member News
French Diabetes Federation's National Diabetes Prevention Week
From September 11 to 18, the French Diabetes Federation (FFD) organized the 9th edition of the National Diabetes Prevention Week. This year's campaign highlighted the close links between diabetes and hypertension, two major public health problems affecting 4 and 11 million people respectively in France. Read more here.
IDF EUROPE'S ADVOCACY & COMMUNICATIONS WORK
During the month of September, IDF Europe participated in a number of initiatives highlighted below.
The annual Global Week for Action on NCDs took place from September 7 to September 13. IDF Europe conducted a poll on Twitter, asking our audience: ‘If you had just 5 minutes with an MEP, what improvement in diabetes care would you convince them to act upon?’. Find out the result of the poll here.
Following recent announcements related to the financial cuts in the EU4Health Commission programme, the 26 European health organisations of the EU4Health Civil Society Alliance have developed a list of 10 guiding principles, to act as guidelines and help ensure the new programme’s full potential. IDF Europe fully supports the statement and its guidelines, which can be found here.
From September 14 to September 15, the WHO Regional Committee for Europe (RC70) held its 70th Session, the Region’s annual decision-making meeting. Read IDF Europe’s statement on the European Programme of Work for 2020-25 and IDF Europe’s statement on the session’s progress reports here.
IDF Europe Chair, Dr. Niti Pall, spoke in a webinar hosted by MedTech Europe on September 15, titled ‘A Vision for Digitally Enabled Diabetes Care in Europe’. This webinar was part of a larger publication on the future of diabetes care; more information can be found here.
On 17 September 2020, IDF Europe celebrated World Patient Safety Day to raise awareness of patient safety, promote global actions to reduce patient harm and increase public engagement in the safety of health care. Read here our testimonials to understand how safety has been handled in North Macedonia since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.
On the 18th of September ECDA had a virtual meeting with the Commissioner for Health Stella Kyriakides, as well as Cabinet members and officials from DG SANTE, to discuss chronic disease prevention and management in Europe, the EU4Health Programme and Europe’s Beating Cancer plan. IDF Europe attended the meeting as part of the ECDA delegation, and were very pleased with the commissioner’s commitment to tackling NCDs.
On September 22, the ENVI committee discussed the EU vaccine strategy for COVID-19 and the Vaccines Advance Purchase Agreements. IDF Europe believes that people living with diabetes should be among the groups prioritised to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Read more about our position here.
In June 2018, the National Health Service (NHS) in England published “Language Matters”, a practical handbook setting out how health professionals must avoid stigmatising language and encourage more positive interactions with people living with diabetes. The Spanish translation of this guide has recently been published and is available on our website.
Taking place every year from 23 to 30 September, the European Week of Sport helps millions of people across the world build healthier lifestyles. Being active and eating healthily are two cornerstones of diabetes management; IDF Europe promoted several initiatives to encourage physical activity for people with diabetes. Discover more here.
Tuesday 29 September was World Heart Day. Worldwide around 21% of adults with diabetes live with coronary artery disease and 32% with cardiovascular disease. IDF Europe supports efforts made by governments and the EU to promote healthy hearts by creating health-enabling environments.
IDF Europe's response to the Pharmaceutical strategy
The Pharmaceutical Strategy for Europe aims to ensure that people all over Europe have equal access to the medicines they need at an affordable price point. Accessing the right medication at the right time, and without incurring high out-of-pocket expenditure, is of critical importance for people living with diabetes, who might otherwise develop life-disabling or -threatening complications, and have also been proven to be extremely vulnerable to COVID-19. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has also demonstrated that there are still profound inequalities in access to medicines and care across Europe.
IDF Europe welcomes the EU Pharmaceutical strategy, and urges the European Commission to take actions to ensure that people living with diabetes and their healthcare teams can have full and transparent access to affordable care.
Download IDF Europe’s full response to the pharmaceutical strategy here.
COMING UP IN THE NEXT MONTHS...
Within the next months, IDF Europe will be involved in the several initiatives listed below. Stay tuned for these upcoming events!
World sight day
World mental health day
EU HEALTH SUMMIT 2020
Farm to Fork conference
World Diabetes Day
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