Alzheimer Europe has written to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, calling on her to propose a European Neurological Health Plan in her State of the European Union address in September, with dementia as a distinct priority within it. The letter, sent on 20 July on behalf of the more than 9 million Europeans living with dementia and the family carers who support them, also asks that the Plan be included in the Commission's 2027 Work Programme.
Support for such a Plan has been building across the EU institutions. The European Parliament's Own-Initiative Report on a Neurological Health Strategy should be finalised next year, and the European People's Party committed to a European Plan on Alzheimer's disease, dementia and Parkinson's disease in its 2024 Manifesto. Commissioner Várhelyi's message to the MindShift initiative in Rome in June was a further welcome signal. In our letter to President von der Leyen, we argue that the Commission is now in a position to act on these commitments.
Neurological conditions currently affect over 150 million people in Europe. Whilst dementia is not the most prevalent neurological disease, it is among the most consequential, as the third leading cause of death in the European region and a major cause of disability and dependency among older people. On current projections, 14.3 million people in the EU27 will be living with dementia by 2050. The overall cost of neurological diseases in Europe is approaching EUR 1.5 trillion per year, with an estimated, average yearly cost of EUR25,218 for each dementia patient. The letter also notes the gender dimensions of these conditions, with women disproportionately affected as both patients and unpaid carers.
Alzheimer Europe points to the European Beating Cancer Plan and the Safe Hearts Plan as evidence that the European Union can lead on the most pressing health issues facing the continent. The organisation has offered to support the President's team and Commissioner Várhelyi's cabinet as a Plan develops. A European Neurological Health Plan would underscore the Commission's commitment to protecting the health of EU citizens, tackling not only the significant health challenges Europeans live with on a daily basis, but also those that will increasingly affect our ageing societies for many decades to come.
You can read the letter below as a PDF.
