⚖️ In 2020, 1.8 million deaths from non-communicable diseases before the age of 75 were considered avoidable in the WHO European Region: approximately 60% were due to preventable causes.
📉 The report analyses trends in tobacco, alcohol, physical activity, obesity and diabetes since 2010, as well as the adoption of prevention and management policies.
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1️⃣ SUMMARY
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs), particularly cardiovascular diseases, cancers, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases, remain the leading cause of death and disability in the WHO European Region (p. iv, 2). The report provides an assessment against the targets set for 2025, based on the latest available data, which varies by country and indicators. It mobilises mortality data submitted to WHO by states, WHO estimates of risk factors and 22 indicators of policy adoption (p. 4, 90). Key findings: the decline in premature mortality has significantly slowed during the COVID-19 pandemic (p. 7); 1.8 million NCD deaths were considered avoidable in 2020, of which 59% were preventable (p. 21); obesity and diabetes are on the rise (p. 39, 42-44). The adoption of policies has changed little between 2021 and 2023, but changes in several indicators limit comparisons (p. 57, 96). The document aims to help countries and stakeholders draw lessons from these results (p. 65).
2️⃣ WHAT TO REMEMBER
1️⃣ The majority of avoidable NCD deaths are due to causes classified as preventable [FINDING]. In 2020, 59% of the 1.8 million avoidable NCD deaths before the age of 75 belonged to this category, compared to 41% for those caused by appropriate care; the share attributed to prevention reached 64% among men and 51% among women (p. 21). This distribution is based on a classification of causes of death and does not directly measure the comparative effectiveness of prevention and care (p. 94). The annual productivity losses associated with this mortality are estimated at 514.5 billion US dollars, of which 61% are for causes avoidable by prevention; this amount does not include all the health and social costs of NCDs.
2️⃣ Risk factors are declining, but progress is insufficient and unequal [FINDING]. In 2022, the age-standardised prevalence of current tobacco use among people aged 15 and over reached 25.3%, down from 2010, but not sufficiently to follow the trajectory of the target set for 2025 (p. 29). Insufficient physical activity concerns about 25% of adults and remains overall stable between 2010 and 2022 (p. 34-35). Among adults aged 18 and over, the age-standardised prevalences of obesity and diabetes reached 22.6% and 8.7% respectively in 2022, increasing at the regional level (p. 39, 43). According to the statistical criterion used in the report, France and Spain are the two countries for which the achievement of the target to halt the increase is supported by non-overlapping confidence intervals between 2010 and 2022 for each of these two indicators (p. 40, 44).
3️⃣ Successful countries combine prevention and care [FINDING]. The 10 countries that reached the target of −25% before 2025 have implemented comprehensive sets of "best buys" measures, reduced several risk factors and strengthened the health system response (p. 59). The report highlights that the existence of a policy is only a first step: implementation and monitoring are necessary (p. 57).
3️⃣ TO ACT
The report mainly focuses on national policies, health systems and regional monitoring of NCDs. It presents concrete measures for prevention and management, but does not provide a detailed operational guide for their local implementation. For field actors, its interest lies mainly in diagnosis, advocacy and direction of actions, with necessary adaptation to the intervention context.
1️⃣ [Case 1 — action proposed by the document] As part of the Second European Work Programme 2026-2030, the report proposes to consider, between 2019 and 2030, a relative reduction of 17% in the prevalence of high blood pressure and 21% in the prevalence of tobacco use, as well as an absence of increase in the prevalence of obesity and diabetes (table 1, p. 61). These percentages refer to relative reductions, not decreases in percentage points. The report also proposes to reduce inequalities between countries (p. 62). It presents these targets as proposals to be examined, and not as objectives whose adoption it would attest.
2️⃣ [Case 2 — existing tool cited] The annex 3 (p. 99 and following) provides, country by country, the latest data available (mortality, risk factors, policy indicators). Health Practices Suggestion: use it to place France in relation to other countries in a diagnosis or an argument.
3️⃣ [Case 1 — action requested by the document] The report states that the response to NCDs "requires" a multisectoral approach involving the whole government and society, with a strengthened civil society engaged through co-creation (p. 65). The document does not specify concrete modalities for this involvement.
4️⃣ 3 PRACTICAL QUESTIONS
1️⃣ What proportion of avoidable deaths from NCDs is due to prevention ?
59 % in 2020 (64 % for men, 51 % for women), or about 60 % according to the key messages (p. viii, 21). The rest is due to avoidable causes through quality care (p. 17).
2️⃣ Where does France stand in this report?
According to the estimates and the statistical criterion used in the report, France and Spain are the two countries for which the achievement of the target to halt the rise in obesity and diabetes is supported by non-overlapping confidence intervals between 2010 and 2022 (p. 40, 44). This result pertains to this period and these age-standardized indicators; it does not allow for conclusions about developments after 2022. France is also among the 10 countries achieving the highest policy adoption scores in 2023 (p. 55). However, it does not appear in the list of the 10 countries that have already achieved a 25% reduction in premature mortality since 2010 before the deadline of 2025 (p. 59).
3️⃣ Is the prevention of NCDs sufficiently funded?
The report estimates that prevention remains underfunded despite the high benefits it can bring (p. viii). It also indicates that on an international scale, NCDs only represent 2.1% of development aid for health, and that aid dedicated to NCDs has decreased by 34% between 2020 and 2023 (p. 3). This data concerns the overall response to NCDs in international aid; it does not directly measure the funding of prevention in the countries of the European Region.9789289062473-eng.pdf
5️⃣ TO GO FURTHER
1️⃣ Health Practices Blog: « The health and economic benefits of combating non-communicable diseases » (30 April 2026) — fact sheet on the OECD report dedicated to the health and economic gains of combating NCDs. Link consulted on 24 October 2026.
2️⃣ External resource: WHO Europe, « Health policies aimed at combating chronic diseases can have positive effects in 5 years » (24 March 2025, in French) — presents 25 measures « quick wins » (quick buys), to which the report refers (p. iv, x). Link consulted on 24 October 2026.
6️⃣ #️⃣ HASHTAGS
#healthpractices #NonCommunicableDiseases #AvoidableMortality #PrimaryPrevention #WHOEurope #RiskFactors #HealthInequalities #HealthInAllPolicies
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