The importance of Health Research in Horizon 2020: Diabetes as a model of a chronic disease and the need for sustainable funding

Abstract

Diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases and is estimated to affect more than 32 million European Union (EU) citizens, which is nearly 10% of the total EU population. An additional 32 million EU citizens are not yet diagnosed or have pre-diabetes, and rates of diabetes are expected to further rise as the population ages. Annual costs of diabetes in 2010 were approximately €300 billion, and the European Parliament now considers diabetes an epidemic. Horizon 2020, the upcoming European Commission Research Framework Programme, will dictate how much funding is available for scientific research in Europe. EURADIA, the Alliance for European Diabetes Research, is working to ensure that Horizon 2020 will allocate sufficient funding to health research in light of the increasing economic consequences of chronic diseases such as diabetes.

Keywords:

• Diabetes
• Treatment
• Europe
• Funding
• Horizon 2020

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sarah Hills

Sarah Hills trained as a nurse at the Middlesex Hospital and the London Chest Hospital in the UK (1980–1986). She worked for the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) and managed the editorial office of Diabetologia (1987–1997) in Uppsala, Sweden and Pisa, Italy. Sarah became the administrator for the European Group for the Study of Insulin Resistance (EGIR) and in 2001 manager of the multi-centre FP5 RISC (Relationship between Insulin Resistance and Cardiovascular Disease) project coordinated at the University of Pisa. From 2008 to 2010 Sarah was manager of the FP7 DIAMAP (Road Map for Diabetes Research in Europe) project. Sarah has also been active in FEND (Foundation for European Nurses in Diabetes) and was the Editor-in-Chief of the journal European Diabetes Nursing from 2004 to 2010. Sarah is currently Executive Director of EURADIA.

EURADIA is a unique alliance of NGOs and pharmaceutical companies with the mission of improving the lives of people affected by diabetes by promoting diabetes research funding in Europe through advocacy and communication.