Thank you to The Lancet Regional Health – Europe's clinical and statistical peer reviewers in 2024

In February 2023, we pledged to enhance the diversity, transparency, and inclusivity of our peer review process while continuing to uphold the rigorous standards that define The Lancet Regional Health -Europe.As we reflect on the year 2024, we are pleased to report the progress toward these goals, while also identifying areas for further improvement.This progress would not have been possible without the dedication of our peer and statistical reviewers, whose critical contributions have been vital to maintaining the quality of our publications.In 2024, 1192 reviewers provided their expertise, marking a 30% increase compared to 2023.This substantial growth reflects our journal's expanding reach and the continued trust placed in us by the global research community.Gender diversity in reviewer demographics remains a cornerstone of our efforts.In 2024, 56.7% of reviewers identified as men (down from 57.8% in 2023), 34.6% identified as women (up from 32.5%), 0.8% identified as nonbinary or gender diverse (up from 0.5%), and 8.0% chose not to disclose their gender identity (down from 9.2%).While we are pleased with progress, we recognise the need to further improve gender diversity, including reducing the 22% gap between reviewers who identify as men and those who identify as women, and we are dedicated to addressing this disparity in the years to come.In terms of geographical representation, while the majority of our reviewers (93.2%) were from high-income countries (HICs), we are encouraged to see contributions from low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) increase to 5.5% from 4.8% in 2023.This remains an area where we are committed to fostering further engagement and inclusivity.For 1.3% of reviewers, country information was unavailable, a slight improvement from 2023, where 2.1% of reviewers did not provide their country data.We aim to continue refining our data collection.Our reviewers came from 55 countries, underscoring the international collaboration that defines research.The largest numbers of reviewers came from the United Kingdom (197), the United States (150), Italy (120), and Germany (107).We will strive to intensify efforts to have reviewers from underrepresented regions in 2025.Reflecting on our 2023 pledges, we have made measurable progress in several key areas, including expanding our reviewer pool, enhancing global representation, narrowing the gender gap, and increasing representation from LMICs.However, there is still work to be done to further close the gaps in all these vital aspects in the years ahead.