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The European voice for informal carers

Commission and OECD report shows need to further promote healthy ageing while tackling health workforce shortages

European Commission | Press Releases | 18 November 2024

Today, the Commission and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) published the Health at a Glance: Europe 2024 report. This year’s edition highlights the importance of lifelong health promotion and disease prevention to boosting healthy ageing. It also stresses the urgent need to address health workforce shortages across Europe.

The report demonstrates that although life expectancy at birth in Europe has rebounded after the pandemic to an average of 81.5 years, an 8-year gap persists between countries with the highest and lowest life expectancies. Gender-based differences in healthy life-years across the EU are also outlined, showing that while women live longer than men on average, they spend 5 years more than men on average in poor health.

The report also underlines the urgent need for action to address health workforce shortages, estimated at 1.2 million doctors, nurses and midwives in 2022. With over one-third of doctors and a quarter of nurses in Europe aged over 55 and expected to retire in the coming years, decisive action is necessary to ensure Europe’s healthcare workforce is supported. Action is required at several different levels, including greater investment, improved working conditions and more training opportunities.

Stella Kyriakides, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, said: “Our health landscape is changing rapidly in Europe, with digitalisation, climate change, demographic shifts and societal changes creating new and complex challenges. Over the past 5 years, the EU has made significant progress in responding to the COVID pandemic, addressing key health challenges and in building our Health Union’s resilience. I welcome today’s report which provides solid evidence for the important work that lies ahead to address these pressures with innovation, investment and support for our workforce. It also emphasises the importance of our own daily choices in keeping ourselves healthier for longer.”

Health at a Glance is a biannual report providing a snapshot and analysis on the state of health and health systems in the EU. The data presented informs evidence-based policymaking and provide examples of positive policy solutions at the national and EU level.

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