The EU Health Programme, managed by DG SANTE, received a considerable budget increase from €413 million to €9.4 billion (for the 2021-2027 period), and received a brand new name EU4Health. (You can find more details on this very positive news here.)
This is a very tangible sign of renewed impetus and focus on health at the EU level. However, in the text which accompanied the announcement (also seen at the link above), it once again speaks of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. And it mentions areas where action is required such as ‘cancer, rare diseases and mental health’. This means that neurology has been – yet again – omitted from the Commission’s health priorities.
The European Federation of Neurological Associations (EFNA), together with the European Academy of Neurology (EAN) and neurology advocacy groups from across Europe, call on the European Commission to acknowledge the full burden of neurological disorders and to take concrete steps to fully integrate neurological health into its main priority areas in the field of NCDs.
Read the open letter here.
