Strengthening non-communicable diseases monitoring systems in Europe through a multistakeholder collaborative approach: a key priority for advancing data-driven policymaking
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are major drivers of disability, health expenditure, and productivity loss in Europe. Effective surveillance is essential to understand evolving needs, design and evaluate interventions, and ensure accountability. This paper provides a high-level overview of NCD monitoring in Europe, focusing on cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, and major modifiable risk factors. It draws on three complementary sources: the EU Joint Action on Cardiovascular Diseases and Diabetes (JACARDI, 32 countries), the Joint Action on the Prevention of NCDs (JA PreventNCD, 16 countries), and the WHO NCD Country Capacity Survey (2023, 53 WHO European Region Member States). These sources provide a comprehensive assessment of surveillance capacity, infrastructure and gaps, showing that NCD monitoring remains fragmented, underfunded, and limited in equity-sensitive data and policy integration. Strengthening governance, investment, and cross-country collaboration is crucial to build interoperable, and equity-oriented systems supporting evidence-informed decisions, accountability, and the right to health.
Authors
- Benedetta Armocida (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3583-2790)
- Ivo Rakovac (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6815-5274)
- Hanna K Tolonen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3121-4303)
- Knut‐Inge Klepp (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3181-6841)
- Kremlin Wickramasinghe (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9497-7901)
- Tomi Mäki‐Opas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0472-719X)
- Jill Farrington
- Silvia Francisci (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1552-1744)
- Graziano Onder (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3400-4491)
- Héctor Bueno (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0277-7596)
- Valentina Possenti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7906-5066)
- Beatrice Formenti
- Gundo Weiler
- Ane Fullaondo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2921-0226)
- Gauden Galea (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2257-6014)
- Markku Peltonen
- Torben Frøstrup Hansen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7476-671X)
- Marco Silano (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7051-3405)
- Luigi Palmieri (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4298-2642)
- Giovanni Capelli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9065-2218)
- Morten Sønderskov Frydensberg (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-5813-7569)
- Edwin Wouters
- Allison Ekberg
- Linda Granlund
- Emil Høstrup
- Yhasmine Hamu Azcarate
Institutions
- Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (IT)
- Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NO)
- Norwegian Directorate of Health (NO)
- University of Antwerp (BE)
- University of Eastern Finland (FI)
- University of Southern Denmark (DK)
- University of Malta (MT)
- Istituto Superiore di Sanità (IT)
- Agostino Gemelli University Polyclinic (IT)
- Spanish National Centre for Cardiovascular Research (ES)
- Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (FI)
- World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe (DK)
- Hospital Universitario 12 De Octubre (ES)
- Region of Southern Denmark (DK)
- Lillebaelt Hospital (DK)
- Bioef - Fundación Vasca de Innovación e Investigación Sanitarias (ES)
- Istituti di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- The Lancet Regional Health - Europe
- Published
- 2025-12-11
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanepe.2025.101553
- Primary Topic
- Global Public Health Policies and Epidemiology
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- European Commission