Joint Action Cancer and other NCDs prevention – Action on Health Determinants
Cancer and other NCDs make up more than 2/3 of the burden of disease in Europe. At the population level, substantial variations exist according to socio-economic status, geographical area, age, disability, gender, and ethnic groups. A large part of this disease burden is preventable.
In the context of the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan and the need to address NCDs as expressed in the EU Non-Communicable Diseases Initiative – Healthier Together, we will address health determinants common to cancer and other NCDs, and their common underlying risk factors. The overall aim of JA PreventNCD is to reduce the burden of cancer and other NCDs and common risk factors, both at a personal and societal level, and support member states by taking a holistic approach for the prevention of cancer and other NCDs, through coordinated action.
The specific objectives are to:
- improve joint capacities of member states to plan and implement cancer and other NCD prevention policies and activities both at a national, regional, and local level;
- improve data and the monitoring system for cancer and other NCDs and their common risk factors;
- contribute to reduced social inequalities in cancer and other NCDs;
- engage with and support key actors in the field of cancer and NCD prevention, including decision makers at all levels of government, civil society organizations, professionals, the general population, and patients’ groups to facilitate cooperation and joint efforts.
To achieve these objectives, we will analyze the opportunities for implementing evidence based intersectoral policies for preventing cancer and other NCDs, and pilot-test innovative practices and scale-up best practices, including both population-based and targeted prevention efforts to promote healthy living. Furthermore, we will monitor cancer and other NCDs mortality and morbidity, exposure to the common risk factors, cost of NCD and cancer care, and the impact of health promotion and disease prevention efforts both at a personal and societal level.
Three technical work packages are designed to cover policies and actions across the spectrum from structural measures at societal level to interventions targeting individuals. These are labelled ‘Regulation and taxation’, Healthy living environment’ and ‘Identifying individuals at risk’. Another set of technical work packages are cutting across this spectrum and addressing ‘Monitoring’, ‘Social inequalities’ and ‘Health in all policies’. The common risk factors for cancer and other NCDs such as tobacco and alcohol use, unhealthy eating and physical inactivity are themes cutting across all these six work packages.
The JA PreventNCD is a large project including more than 100 partners from 25 European countries (i.e., 22 member states and Iceland, Norway, and Ukraine), and it has a total budget (EU and member state contributions combined) of more than € 95,5 million. The project started January 1, 2024, and runs through December 31, 2027.
This JA represents an ambitious effort – both from the European Commission and from the participating countries - to provide strategic guidance and consolidated efforts to the field of cancer and other NCDs prevention. Key outputs include an EU Consortium on Cancer Prevention, high-level annual events, and intervention tools and policy recommendations that will contribute to reduced burden of cancer and other NCDs and inequity across Europe. Furthermore, the ambition is to contribute to reduced fragmentation of actions, duplications, and overlaps, and to promote engagement of national authorities (also at regional and local levels) to increase both the short-term and long-term impact of implemented action.
Through rigorous evaluation of implemented action, we aim to assist authorities in prioritizing the most efficient prevention strategies to meet the global targets to reduce the burden of NCDs.
Authors are Linda Granlund, Project Coordinator and Knut-Inge Klepp, Scientific Coordinator
Co-Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HADEA). Neither the European Union nor European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HADEA) can be held responsible for them.