World Health Day 2012; and the issue is ageing and health
03.04.12
This Saturday will be World Health Day 2012.
This year, the WHO will focus on Ageing and Health, with the theme “Good health adds life to years”.
As the WHO points out, the median age of the global population is steadily rising, with the number of people aged 60 years and more expected to triple between 2000 and 2050.
In the WHO European Region, average life expectancy in many countries already exceeds 80 years for women and 75 for men. This unprecedented achievement offers both opportunities and challenges for individuals, their families and society.
Ten facts on healthy ageing in Europe
What the pharmaceutical industry is doing?
People are living longer because their lives are not being cut short by infection, cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and other diseases to the extent that was true in the past.
However, there are still many diseases which affect older people for which we lack adequate treatment, such as Alzheimer and Arthritis.
In many cases, challenges brought by an ageing population can be addressed through better use of medicines and by taking new approaches to future research.
Our member companies continue to research unmet needs:
- At present nearly 100 drugs are in development for alzheimers and similar numbers for rheumatoid arthritis and pain.
- EFPIA is involved in collaborations with various stakeholders, such as the European Commission, to address adherence to therapy and work on the improvement of chronic care management.
2012 marks also the European Year for Active Ageing.
To tackle the demographic challenge of ageing, the European Commission has launched the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing as an integral component of the Europe 2020 Strategy. By exploring and promoting effective innovative solutions, the Partnership aims to raise the average healthy lifespan of Europeans by two years by 2020.
“We all know Europe is facing a demographic challenge. It threatens our economic equilibrium, and cutting the money available for pensions, health and care. We can’t solve this challenge by thinking small, by cutting a few corners here and tinkering with a few budgets.
We need a whole new way of operating, to turn this into an opportunity, to turn costs into investments. “, the Commissioner Nellie Kroes claimed this week at a conference on the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing goes from plan to action.
Click here to find out more about the Partnership.
