Five decisive actions to transform Europe’s NCD monitoring systems: “What gets measured gets prioritised”
A new policy paper highlights key areas for advancing data-driven policymaking to curb the rising burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), setting the stage for a more effective and equitable healthcare in Europe
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A new policy paper published in The Lancet Regional Health – Europe calls for decisive action to transform how Europe monitors noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Developed jointly by Joint Action on Cardiovascular Diseases and Diabetes (JACARDI), Joint Action Prevent Non-Communicable Diseases (JA PreventNCD), and the WHO Regional Office for Europe (WHO/Europe), the paper sets out five priority actions to strengthen health monitoring systems across the region, an essential step to curb the rising burden of NCDs and mental health and ensure more effective, equitable healthcare.
The publication, titled “Strengthening non-communicable diseases monitoring systems in Europe through a multistakeholder collaborative approach: a key priority for advancing data-driven policymaking”, comes at a critical momentum after the Fourth United Nations High-Level Meeting on NCDs and Mental Health. “Europe has a unique opportunity, and responsibility, to recommit to data-driven health governance and sustained investment in resilient NCD monitoring systems”, the authors explain in the publication.
A call to action: five priorities for 2025 and beyond
The publication highlights five critical areas where action is needed to make monitoring systems stronger, fairer, and more effective. It calls for collecting data that is truly inclusive and disaggregated, so that inequalities become visible and can be addressed. It stresses the importance of solid governance, clear legal frameworks, and long-term investment to ensure that progress is sustained.
Monitoring, the authors argue, should also be embedded in real-time policymaking, so that information directly shapes decisions and drives accountability. Civil society, communities, people with lived experience, and marginalized groups should have a meaningful voice in this process, making sure that data reflects people’s lived realities. And finally, the paper points to the need for stronger collaboration across sectors, greater sharing of knowledge, and more capacity building to secure lasting impact.
“Tackling NCDs is one of five priorities of WHO/Europe’s Second European Programme of Work, co-created with 53 Member States and shaped through broad public consultations, including with health professionals, people living with NCDs and civil society. Effective action on NCDs hinges on good data. Europe can lead by example and showcase collaborative and inclusive approaches together with key stakeholders, including EU Joint Actions”, said Dr Gundo Weiler, Director of the Division of Prevention and Health Promotion at WHO Regional Office for Europe.
The challenge: gaps between commitments and reality
An estimated 80% of NCDs are considered preventable through effective public health policies and early detection strategies. These figures underscore the urgent need for a paradigm shift from a model centred on diagnostics and treatment to one rooted in prevention, health promotion, and evidence-based screening.
Despite great efforts in international commitments, progress at the national level has been inconsistent. Monitoring systems remain fragmented, overly reliant on short-term projects, or challenged by limited governance and insufficient investment. This has created a critical gap between ambitious global targets and their translation into actionable national policies.
The policy paper identifies persistent data gaps, structural weaknesses, and opportunities for innovation. It emphasizes that monitoring is not just about collecting data, it is about ensuring that information is used in real time to drive policy reform, accountability, and equity.
Lessons from Europe
The authors underline that too often, NCD monitoring efforts have been ad hoc, reliant on external funding or driven by individual champions. This has led to uneven coverage, lack of comparability between countries, and persistent blind spots when it comes to the health of groups living in vulnerable situations, such as migrants, minorities, and people with disabilities.
Without data that is disaggregated and reflects disparities, inequalities remain invisible and policies risk reinforcing exclusion. The authors argue that equity must be at the center of all future monitoring efforts.
“It is a moral and ethical imperative to advocate for and generate more inclusive data. Data should be systematically disaggregated by age, sex, gender, geography, socioeconomic status, disability, ethnic and migration background to reveal territorial disparities and enable place-based interventions”, unfolds Dr Benedetta Armocida, from the Department of Cardiovascular, Endocrine-metabolic Diseases and Aging at Istituto Superiore di Sanità -ISS, Rome (Italy) and Coordinator of JACARDI.
“We should begin to view data not merely as numbers, but as reflections of human lives and rights: each data point tells a story, and data becomes truly powerful when it shifts narratives, amplifies the voices of those too often overlooked, and holds systems accountable. Data must be observed critically and translated into policies that strengthen health systems. Without inclusive monitoring, structural inequities remain concealed, and the most vulnerable remain invisible—one data point, one life, one missed opportunity at a time”, adds Dr Armocida.
At the same time, the authors highlight successful innovations and good practices emerging from European Joint Actions, such as JACARDI and JA PreventNCD, demonstrating that progress is possible when commitments are matched by clear governance, adequate investment, and cross-sector collaboration.
“Across Europe we already see solutions that work. Joint Actions like JA PreventNCD and JACARDI help countries align methods, share tools and learn faster from each other. That is how we improve comparability between countries and make monitoring more useful for prevention and health promotion, including by showing more clearly where inequalities persist,” says Professor Knut-Inge Klepp, from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo and Scientific Coordinator of JA PreventNCD.
“But we have to treat monitoring as core infrastructure, not an extra task. It needs stable funding, clear governance and the ability to produce data that is timely and inclusive. If monitoring depends on short-term projects or individual champions, it will remain uneven. If it is institutionalized, it can guide priorities, strengthen accountability and help sustain progress over time,” adds Klepp.
Europe has both a responsibility and an opportunity to lead the way in building stronger, more inclusive health information systems that can serve as a global benchmark. Doing so will be critical not only to reducing premature mortality from NCDs by one-third by 2030, but also to ensuring health equity and resilience in the face of future challenges. “Because what gets measured gets prioritised. What gets disaggregated gets addressed. And what gets institutionalised can be sustained”, conclude the authors.
Journal
The Lancet
Article Title
Strengthening non-communicable diseases monitoring systems in Europe through a multistakeholder collaborative approach: a key priority for advancing data-driven policymaking
Article Publication Date
12-Dec-2025
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