The event ‘Joining forces to prevent and control non-communicable diseases: The role of policy in tackling stroke’ took place on 28 March 2019 in Brussels, at the Committee of the Regions (CoR). The event, held under the patronage of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU), was organised by the Stroke Alliance for Europe (SAFE) in collaboration with the European Stroke Organisation (ESO) and the Romanian National Association of Stroke (ANRS), and kindly supported by our corporate partners: the Angels Initiative, Amgen and the BMS-Pfizer Alliance. The agenda and speakers’ bios can be found in the Annex of this report.
You can read the full report by clicking on its cover photo below
The conference represented an important opportunity to bring together European, national and local policy stakeholders to foster discussions on the need for policy action in the area of stroke. In particular, as identified by SAFE’s Burden of Stroke in Europe Report, a priority was to address the disparities between and within European countries across the stroke care pathway – from primary prevention to life after stroke. The event also looked into the role of policy and policy stakeholders in achieving the ambitious targets of the ‘Stroke Action Plan for Europe 2018-2030’. We are hopeful that the discussions will feed into the Romanian and upcoming Finnish and Croatian presidencies’ health priorities, as well as current and future EU action for preventing and controlling non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
During the panel discussion, patient representatives and clinical experts called on the EU Institutions to recognise the burden of stroke as its own incredibly important entity, rather than diluting it in the wider classification of cardiovascular diseases. Panellists representing patients and clinicians also called for the EU to facilitate discussions between its Member States on the implementation of the Stroke Action Plan for Europe.
A number of actions were identified as viable options for EU action on stroke during the event. Firstly, Martin Seychell, Deputy Director General at DG SANTE, offered to facilitate discussions on the Stroke Action Plan for Europe within the NCDs Steering Group, as well as to assist Member States with the identification and transfer of best practices. Then, Rokas Navickas, Scientific coordinator at the CHRODIS+ Joint Action, proposed a collaboration between SAFE, ESO and the CHRODIS + Joint Action, including a potential future project on stroke. Finally, Mikel Irujo Amezaga, member of the CoR, proposed moving forward with an own-initiative report driven by the CoR and encouraged SAFE and ESO to pursue different available opportunities for regional collaboration and funding, including the EP Pilot Projects and the Interreg Thematic Platforms.
As a next step to this meeting, SAFE and ESO will follow-up with speakers and participants to move forward with the identified opportunities. Joining forces with EU policy-makers to address the burden of stroke that stroke survivors, their families and the overall society are currently facing is essential. We need to call on them to follow through on their suggestions to help implement the Stroke Action Plan for Europe and, together, make a difference!
LIVE STREAMING
If you did not have the opportunity to join us in person on 28 March, you can still watch the live streaming of our event here.
You can download below the final version of the conference materials:
PROGRAMME
The final agenda of the event can be found below:
Joining forces to prevent and control non-communicable diseases: The role of policy in tackling stroke
Thursday, 28 March 2019, from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Room JD51, Committee of the Regions, Brussels
| 08:15 – 09:00 | Registration of Participants |
| 09:00 – 09:05 | Welcome |
| Jon Barrick, President of the Stroke Alliance for Europe (SAFE) | |
| 09:05 – 09:15 | Keynote address |
| Tiberius-Marius Brădățan, Secretary of State, Ministry of Health of Romania
on behalf of Sorina Pintea, Romanian Minister of Health |
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| 09:15 – 09:30 | Stroke Action Plan for Europe: how to put it forward |
| Jon Barrick, President of SAFE | |
| 09:30 – 09:40 | Stroke Action Plan for Europe: the healthcare professional’s role |
| Bo Norrving, Coordinator of the Stroke Action Plan for Europe 2018-2030 | |
| 09:40 – 09:55 | The challenges for tackling stroke in Romania |
| Sorin Tuta, Vice-President of the Romanian National Association of Stroke (ANRS)
Cristina Tiu, elected future president of the Romanian Neurology Society (SNR) for 2021-2025 |
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| 09:55 – 10:05 | National Best Practices on stroke |
| Tiina Laatikainen, Research Professor at National Institute for Health and Welfare, Finland | |
| 10:05 – 10:10 | Supporting Statement: Reducing the Burden of Stroke in Croatia and the EU |
| Video Message from Milan Kujundžić, Minister of Health of the Republic of Croatia | |
| 10:10 – 10:30 | *** Coffee break *** |
| 10:30 – 10:45 | Current and future EU action on prevention and control of non-communicable diseases |
| Martin Seychell, Deputy Director General for Health and Food Safety, DG SANTE | |
| 10:45 – 11:45 | Panel Discussion ‘The role of policy in tackling stroke’ |
Moderator:
Participants:
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| 11:45 – 12:00 | Closing |
| Jon Barrick, President of SAFE |
THE SPEAKERS
Speaker profiles can be found here
To view more information on the speakers click here.
ORGANISERS
The event was organised by SAFE in collaboration with the European Stroke Organisation (ESO) and the Romanian National Stroke Association (ANRS).
About SAFE
SAFE is an umbrella organisation that represents a range of stroke patient organisations across Europe that were affected by stroke. SAFE’s vision is to work towards reducing the number of strokes in Europe as well as ensuring that everyone who is affected by stroke gets the help and support they need.
By combining the resources of patient organisations across Europe SAFE is working for better stroke prevention, more effective stroke care, greater public awareness and increased research activity within Europe.
About ESO
ESO is a pan-European society of stroke researchers and physicians, national and regional stroke societies and lay organisations. The aim of the ESO is to reduce burden of stroke by changing the way that stroke is viewed and treated. ESO serves as the voice of stroke in Europe, harmonising stroke management across the whole of Europe and taking action to reduce the burden of stroke regionally and globally.
About ANRS
ANRS is an independent, not-for-profit, non-governmental and apolitical Romanian association of physicians with scientific, medical and social goals regarding stroke prevention and management optimisation in accordance with the European and WHO standards. The association organises congresses, conferences, round tables, practical demonstrations and symposia that seek to promote up-to-date stroke education, according to the latest scientific research and validated therapeutic progress.
ENDORSEMENTS
The event will be held under the patronage of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union and hosted at the European Committee of the Regions (CoR).
About the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union
Romania will hold the Presidency of the Council of the EU from January to June 2019. The Council of the European Union is the institution where the governments of the EU Member States defend their own country’s national interests in the negotiation of the legislative and non-legislative files. Every EU Member State has the obligation to hold the Council Presidency, which changes every six months.
About the CoR
The European Committee of the Regions is the voice of regions and cities in the EU, aiming to reduce the gap between EU institutions’ work and EU citizens. It is composed of more than 350 local and regional elected representatives from across the EU and advises on new laws that have an impact on regions and cities (which is 70% of all EU legislation).
SPONSORS
We are grateful to our sponsors for their generous support of this event.
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CONTACT US
You can get in touch with us at: info@safestroke.eu or through our Facebook page and Twitter account.
