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Advocacy Manifesto - Tackling the Allergy Crisis in Europe
Advocacy Manifesto
Tackling the Allergy Crisis in Europe-Concerted Policy Action Needed
Allergy is one of the most common chronic diseases in Europe. Up to 20% of patients with allergies live with a severe
debilitating form of their condition, and struggle daily with the fear of a possible asthma attack, anaphylactic shock, or even death from an allergic reaction.
While at the beginning of the 20th century allergy was seen as a rare disease, in the last few decades we have witnessed a dramatic
increase in disease burden. Today, more than 150 million Europeans suffer from chronic allergic diseases and the current prediction is that by 2025 half of the entire EU population will be affected.
In light of these troubling statistics, the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) has a duty to alert EU policymakers to the growing public health burden posed by allergy in Europe and the need to implement policy actions to help health care practitioners address this problem.
The EAACI European Advocacy Manifesto proposes a series of evidence-based recommendations to tackle the burden of allergy in Europe, foster allergy research and help strengthen Allergology as a medical specialty.
Download the Advocacy Manifesto here.Last updated: 04 April 2016 -
European Parliament Declaration, 2013
Written declaration, under Rule 123 of Parliament’s Rules of Procedure, on recognising the burden of allergic disease
1. More than 150 million EU citizens suffer from chronic allergic diseases, half of whom are undiagnosed due to a lack of awareness and shortage of medical specialists;
2. More than 100 million Europeans suffer from allergic rhinitis and 70 million from asthma, the most common non-communicable diseases in children and the main cause of children’s emergency room visits and hospital admissions;
3. More than 17 million Europeans suffer from food allergies or severe allergies implying a risk of acute attacks or anaphylaxis with life-threatening potential;
4. Allergies are an underestimated cause of unhealthy ageing and have a severe impact on social, professional and educational performance, especially in children, causing socioeconomic inequalities;
5. The Commission is therefore called upon to encourage cooperation and coordination between Member States to promote: national allergy programmes to reduce the disease burden and health inequalities; training in allergies and multidisciplinary care plans to improve disease management; use of preventive and tolerance-inducing approaches to allergy treatment; and scientific research into direct and indirect allergy risk factors, including pollution;
6. This declaration, together with the names of the signatories, is forwarded to the Commission.Last updated: 11 February 2015 -
Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis, 2012
Food allergy is a growing public health concern, affecting more than 17 million people in Europe alone. 3.5 million European sufferers are younger than 25 years old and the sharpest rise in food allergies is amongst children and young people. Furthermore, the number of severe and potentially life-threatening allergic reactions (anaphylaxis), due to food allergies, occurring in children is also increasing.
In light of these worrying statistics, the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) launched its Stop Anaphylaxis! Food Allergy Campaign in June 2012. The purpose of the campaign was to raise awareness of the sharp increase of anaphylaxis, especially in children. It aimed at educating the public to recognise the symptoms of anaphylaxis and its triggers, and to explain how to react in case of emergency. The EAACI Patients Organisations Committee also supported the Food Allergy Campaign, with more than 25 country representatives from across Europe, North America, South America, the Middle East, Asia and Oceania. This document is a key part of the campaign as it contains a public declaration, calling on European Union (EU) policy-makers, health professionals and the public to take concrete actions in order to improve the management and treatment of food allergies and anaphylaxis.
Download the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Public Declaration here.
Also available in Dutch, French, German, Italian and Spanish.
To read the press release "EAACI issues European Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Public Declaration", please click here.
www.stopanaphylaxis.comLast updated: 11 February 2015 -
Immunotherapy Declaration, 2011
The public health risk posed by allergy has been largely underestimated, the underlying common fallacy being that it is just a mild disease. Yet, as you are well aware, allergy is a public health concern of pandemic proportions, affecting today more than 150 million people in Europe and wreaking far-reaching damage in terms of both human suffering and economic burden.
Although important steps have been taken at the EU level by integrating allergy in the EU’s public health agenda, lack of concerted action and lack of realization on both the true risks of allergic diseases and the preventive treatments that can stop their progression still hold sway. As a result, the quality of life of millions of Europeans and their families is impaired while the financial burden of health care and loss in productivity is continuously growing.
On the occasion of the centenary of the first scientific publication on allergy’s signature treatment, ‘allergen-specific immunotherapy’ (1911-2011), EAACI prepared a pivotal document: A ‘European Declaration on Immunotherapy’, which was co-signed by EFA, the European Federation of Allergy and Airway Diseases Patient Associations, and GA2LEN, an EU-supported Network of Excellence. Its purpose was to raise awareness of the detrimental impact of allergy on Europe and to suggest specific actions designed to face this growing problem effectively.
The Declaration was launched 13 June 2011, on the occasion of the EAACI General Assembly during the 30th EAACI Congress in Istanbul.
- Immunotherapy Declaration in English
- Immunotherapy Declaration in Dutch
- Immunotherapy Declaration in Greek
- Immunotherapy Declaration in Italian
- Immunotherapy Declaration in Lithuanian
- Immunotherapy Declaration in Polish
- Immunotherapy Declaration in Portuguese
- Immunotherapy Declaration in Russian
- Immunotherapy Declaration in Spanish
- Immunotherapy Declaration in Turkish
Last updated: 04 November 2014
Public Declarations
By being present in Brussels, EAACI aims to establish allergy ambassadors among EU Parliament members and to have consistent interaction with different EU Institutions, to promote allergy awareness.