ALL PEOPLE LIVING WITH DIABETES SHOULD HAVE ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE HEALTHCARE
IDF EUROPE CENTENARY OF INSULIN CAMPAIGN
2021 marks the Centenary of the Discovery of Insulin. IDF Europe's three-year campaign (which started in January, with the ‘Imagining the next 100 years of diabetes’ webinar, and continued with ‘Leveraging Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic - The Need for an Inclusivity Shift’ in April) is successfully moving forward, aiming to raise awareness of diabetes and promote access to diabetes care and education across Europe.
One hundred years after the discovery of insulin, diabetes medicines, supplies, and technologies still remain inaccessible to some in Europe, with great inequalities across the continent and within individual countries. We, at IDF Europe, cannot sit idle in the face of inequalities and injustice; this is why we are calling on governments across Europe to ensure that each person living with diabetes (PwD) receives the treatment they need according to the most up-to-date evidence regarding the benefits of medicines and technologies (including newer alternatives).
To do so, we are releasing two factsheets every month presenting key national facts about diabetes care, with the purpose of raising awareness and enabling policymakers to make better decisions when it comes to diabetes care. Accompanying the national factsheets will be video testimonials of young advocates from our YOURAH network, sharing their personal stories and experiences about access to diabetes care and education in their countries.
Follow this link to read the first factsheet - Serbia. Italy will follow soon.
We thank our Member Associations and those young advocates who have participated in our campaign. We look forward to more discussions with our network over the next few months!
The individual country profiles from our Diabetes & COVID-19 survey for Belgium, Sweden, Slovenia, France, Spain and Germany are now available on our website.
We will continue to publish more country profiles as they become available to highlight how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the lives of PwD across Europe.
IDF EUROPE EVENTS
SAVE THE DATE! IDF Europe Symposium at EASD, Monday, 27th September from 14:30h – 15:45h
MEMBER NEWS
"Atlas: Diabetes in Ukraine" presented by the Ukrainian Diabetes Federation
In May 2021, the Ukrainian Diabetes Federation published “Atlas: Diabetes in Ukraine”. This publication makes statistical data available to optimise diabetes care and analyses which interventions are the most effective for managing diabetes and improving the lives of PwD.
The authors of "Atlas: Diabetes in Ukraine" used the IDF Diabetes Atlas 9th edition 2019 as a benchmark, following the latest recommendations on methods for collecting and processing statistical data. "Determining the number of people who die each year and the causes of death is one of the most effective ways of assessing the effectiveness of a country's healthcare system. Such statistics help government officials determine the public health strategy," said Valentina Ocheretenko, Head of the Board of the Ukrainian Diabetes Federation.
The Atlas will serve as a useful guide for decision-makers, healthcare professionals and PwD. The statistics collected will enable policymakers to make more informed decisions about the organisation and financing of diabetes care. For PwD, the Atlas provides access to information on medical and legal aid and explains how patient associations help combat discrimination and overcome inequalities.
The Atlas is available as a printed publication, and through the following social media pages Атлас "Діабет в Україні" | Facebook and website Homepage (diabetesatlas.com.ua). An interactive map provides reliable diabetes data for each region of the country.
Click this link to learn more; the Russian article is also available on our website.
NEWS FROM EUROPE
The Social Summit in Porto Fails to Address Health
In 2021, Portugal took up the Presidency of the Council of the European Union with the mammoth task of leading the COVID-19 recovery process. Part of this recovery plan is to strengthen European health systems against future health threats to create a resilient ‘European Health Union’. However, at the Social Summit held on May 7th and 8th in Porto, health was not on the agenda. The European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan, which was discussed at the Summit, outlines how to turn the 20 key principles of the European Pillar of Social Rights into concrete actions; many of these principles are directly and indirectly linked to health outcomes, for example, healthcare, wages, education, equal opportunities, and healthy work environments. Therefore, it was unfortunate that health was not directly discussed at the Summit. We encourage European and national policymakers to try to take a holistic ‘health-in-all-policies' approach to all future conferences and we at IDF Europe will continue to advocate to get diabetes on the European agenda.
To discover more, click here.
Public Consultation for European Health Data Space Is Now Open
The public consultation for the European Health Data Space (EHDS) runs from May 3 to July 26 and gives stakeholders an opportunity to express their views before the Commission finalises its proposal. The legislative proposal is expected to be adopted in Q4 2021. Today, digitalisation is transforming diabetes care, probably more rapidly than any other therapeutic area. It is critical to ensure that the ever-increasing quantity of health data, including data collected through diabetes devices, apps, etc., can be leveraged not only to improve health outcomes for PwD but also to inform policy makers about required actions regarding diabetes management and prevention and to allow for more research and innovation. Hence, it is crucial that the diabetes community takes an active stance now and contributes to the consultation.
To read our full article, please, follow this link.
Parliament Calls for More Attention to a Range of Chronic Diseases, Including Diabetes, in the EU4health 2021 Work Programme
On May 10, 2021, Matthew Hudson, Director of Resource Management and Better Regulation Unit in DG SANTE, reported to the European Parliament’s ENVI committee on the state of play of the adoption of the EU4Health 2021 work programme. After a number of stakeholder consultations, four main strands have been identified and the public can expect more actions in the areas of crisis preparedness, disease prevention, health systems and health workforce as well as digital.
To see each strand and its allocated budget as well as learn more about MEPs’ responses, click here.
WHO Resolution on Diabetes Prevention and Management
IDF Europe is delighted with the adoption on May 28 of the WHO Resolution on Diabetes Prevention and Management: Resolution on Reducing the burden of noncommunicable diseases through strengthening prevention and control of diabetes. Six weeks after the launch of the WHO Global Diabetes Compact, whose purpose is to tackle the diabetes epidemic by ensuring that all PwD have access to affordable care and treatment, the Resolution calls for urgent coordinated global action on diabetes. It also recognises that in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, people living with diabetes and other NCDs are at increased risk of developing severe complications and dying, and urge governments to take action against health inequalities.
IDF EUROPE ADVOCACY AND COMMUNICATIONS WORK
IDF Europe Endorses the ERS/EPHA Letter to Urgently Develop the Green Pillar of the European Health Union
On May 7, an ERS/EPHA letter on air pollution and climate change was published in the European Parliament magazine. In this open letter, European health industry leaders call on the European Commission to develop the Green Pillar of the European Health Union for a healthy recovery from the pandemic. We, at IDF Europe, signed the letter, as we strongly believe that health and planetary issues are linked, and require strong leadership and political courage.
You can find the article and letter here.
IDF Europe Raises Awareness About the Mental Burden of Living with Diabetes During European Mental Health Week
This year, IDF Europe was proud to support European Mental Health Week (10th-16th May) to discuss the various ways in which diabetes can affect one’s mental health and important tips and tricks on how to alleviate this burden (with help from our YOURAH network!). While we understand that, often, there are no ‘quick fix’ solutions to many mental health problems, we hope that this campaign helped raise awareness of the various ways in which living with diabetes can affect one's mental health.
Click here to discover more!
European Week Against Cancer - Policymakers Must Take a More Inclusive Approach to Cancer Prevention
During the week of 25-31 May, IDF Europe showed support for the European Week Against Cancer. The aim of the campaign was to raise awareness about cancer prevention, access to treatment, and support for patients and survivors. Currently our health systems are not adequately equipped to care for people who are living with both diabetes and cancer. The link between these two non-communicable diseases must be better researched, understood, and integrated as part of a supportive, quality, and affordable system of care in Europe and beyond. In light of this, IDF Europe raised awareness about the link between diabetes and cancer by posting a new fact every day about diabetes and cancer on our social media accounts.
MMD ACTIVITIES
Joint MMD Meeting: MEPs Discuss Legislative Initiatives and Raising Awareness About Diabetes Within the EU Institutions
The first meeting of the MEPs Mobilising for Diabetes (MMD) Interest Group took place virtually on May 12. MEPs gathered to discuss how current health and non-health related policy initiatives can improve the lives of PwD and how to ensure that their voice is heard in policy design and implementation. Besides discussing the legislative landscape, the Group unanimously agreed on the need to raise awareness about diabetes and move away from the portrayal of the condition as a lifestyle disease. Such misconceptions not only increase the stigma and discrimination against PwD but also hinder political action. To improve understanding and raise awareness of diabetes, a series of events will be organised at the European Parliament, aligned with specific milestones of IDF Europe’s Centenary of the Discovery of Insulin Campaign and World Diabetes Day (November 14).
To read more about the agenda of the MMD meeting and next steps, click here.
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