On November 13, the Finnish Parliamentary Network on Diabetes and the Finnish Diabetes Association organised a seminar on the future of diabetes policy in Europe. The event gathered policymakers and diabetes advocates to address the need for more equitable and impactful diabetes strategies across Europe.
IDF Europe Regional Manager, Elisabeth Dupont, joined the event and presented an overview of diabetes prevention and management practices across Europe, highlighting some of the main gaps and inequalities that need to be addressed to build more resilient and sustainable health systems. She also described the important role of the MEPs Mobilising for Diabetes Interest Group (MMD) to push for policy action on diabetes.
Dr. Jaana Lindström, Research Director at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, emphasised Finland’s evidence-based successes in diabetes prevention, such as the proven effects of lifestyle interventions in reducing the incidence of Type 2 diabetes (T2D). These insights underscored the critical role of political commitment in implementing effective prevention programmes.
The seminar also featured a high-level panel discussion, with the Chair of the Finnish Parliament’s Diabetes Network, MP Pia Sillanpää, MEP Merja Kyllönen, MP and Finnish Diabetes Association Board Member Miapetra Kumpula-Natri, former co-chair of the MEPs Mobilising for Diabetes Interest Group (MMD) MEP Sirpa Pietikäinen, and Chief Medical Specialist Elina Pimiä from the Finnish Diabetes Association. Together, the panellists criticised the current lack of focus on diabetes in political decision-making, describing this as a missed opportunity to address one of the most pressing public health challenges of our time. They called for a unified European diabetes programme with clear objectives to improve diabetes care and prevention to ensure the systematic adoption of evidence-based prevention strategies, starting with policies promoting healthy lifestyles and ensuring equal access to diabetes care and self-management technology.
Panellists also discussed the need of strong action to mitigate the economic burden of diabetes, a challenge which is also faced by PwD in Finland as shown in the study “Diabetes in Everyday Life” by the Finnish Diabetes Association.
The seminar underscored that bold, coordinated political action is essential to achieving lasting change in diabetes care and prevention, and this cannot be achieved without European collaboration.