Brussels, 7 November 2011. Today, the Steering Group of the pilot European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing agreed on joint actions in response to the societal challenge of an ageing European population. The Group is made up of people from the health and social sectors, businesses, civil society to public authorities. In today’s Strategic Implementation Plan, the Group sets out priority actions to meet the challenge of ageing through innovation. The overarching objective is to ensure that the average European citizen has two more active and healthy years to live by 2020. The implementation plan is the first step towards that objective, and focuses on three main areas of life events: prevention, care and cure, and independent living. Five specific actions, ready to be launched next year, have been determined:
- Innovative ways to ensure patients follow their prescriptions – a concerted action in at least 30 European regions;
- Innovative solutions to prevent falls and support early diagnosis for older people;
- Co-operation to help prevent functional decline and frailty, with a particular focus on malnutrition;
- Spread and promote successful innovative integrated care models for chronic diseases amongst older patients, such as through remote monitoring. Action should be taken in a number of the EU’s regions;
Improve the uptake of interoperable ICT independent living solutions through global standards to help older people stay independent, mobile and active for longer.
In addition, networking and knowledge sharing on innovation for age-friendly buildings, cities and environments will be pursued.
The Steering Group invites the European Commission to address barriers to innovation in the field of active and healthy ageing and to foster a more effective use of EU funding.
The European Commission's Vice-President for the Digital Agenda, Neelie Kroes; the Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy, John Dalli; and the Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, together, oversee the Partnership.
In a joint statement, they said, "We want to make a real difference to the lives of older Europeans and this plan seeks to do exactly that. In these challenging times for Europe, we are delighted that so many parties are committed to joining forces. It is only through their innovative approaches that we can turn the challenge of demographic ageing into a great opportunity for people, carers and businesses. We will play our part, for example, through regulation and funding, and will talk to government leaders in partnership with stakeholders, to make this plan a reality."
