At a time when Europe is facing a growing burden of chronic diseases and a rapidly ageing population, the need to strengthen prevention has become a critical priority. However, prevention can no longer be conceived as a “one-size-fits-all” approach. Today, scientific and technological advances allow us to shift toward personalised prevention – interventions tailored to each individual's biological, environmental, behavioural, and socio-economic characteristics.
This new paradigm, integrating genomic data, lifestyles, risk factors, and personal preferences, not only promises greater effectiveness in early diagnosis and disease prevention but also lays the foundation for a more inclusive, sustainable, and person-centred healthcare system. However, this transformation can only succeed if citizens and patients are recognised and supported as active participants. Without their informed, meaningful, and ongoing engagement, personalised medicine risks remaining an innovative promise that fails to reach its full societal impact.
To date, EU member states dedicate the 97% of their healthcare budget to cure, while they on average spend 2,8 % on preventive care. In a scenario of tighter budget constraints, the value of prevention is immeasurable: by reducing the prevalence of diseases and avoiding costly treatments, prevention plays a crucial role in maintaining the long-term sustainability of healthcare, social care, and welfare systems.
For these reasons, the 2026 edition of the European Patients’ Rights Day (EPRD) will be dedicated to recognising personalised prevention as a human right – directly linked to the “Right to Preventive Measures”, the first principle stated in the European Charter of Patients’ Rights.
Drafted in 2002 by Active Citizenship Network and civic organisations from 12 EU countries, the Charter affirms every individual’s right to appropriate services to prevent illness through health education, vaccination, and early detection programmes. Today, that right is evolving to include access to genomic screening, digital risk assessment tools, and personalised health interventions.
