25 October 2024

The MMD Group is delighted to welcome MEP Vytenis Andriukaitis (S&D, Lithuania) as a new member. Before being elected as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) in June 2024, MEP Vytenis Andriukaitis served as the Lithuanian Health Minister from 2012 to 2014 and as the EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety from 2014 to 2019. Today, in the European Parliament, MEP Vytenis Andriukaitis is a member of the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) and the Subcommittee on Public Health (SANT). He is also a member of the Delegation for Relations with Belarus (D-BY), the Delegation to the EU-Armenia Parliamentary Partnership Committee, the EU-Azerbaijan Parliamentary Cooperation Committee, the EU-Georgia Parliamentary Association Committee (DSCA), and the Delegation for Relations with Central Asia (DCAS). He also serves as a substitute member of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO).

Drawing from his medical background and career as a surgeon, MEP Vytenis Andriukaitis has made public health his top priority throughout his various political roles. Today, as a member of the SANT subcommittee, one of his main objectives is to develop a unified EU strategy to address common risk factors of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as diabetes, which remain the leading cause of death in the EU.

In the face of the growing burden of the NCDs crisis across the European Union (EU) and beyond, the MMD Group urges policymakers to shift to a holistic, integrated, person-centred, and personalised approach to NCDs prevention and management. A transversal approach across diseases and risk factors would break down siloed thinking and ensure the sustainability of our healthcare systems and the well-being of our citizens.

We look forward to collaborating with MEP Vytenis Andriukaitis to enhance and develop effective EU health policies that address the growing burden of NCDs, including diabetes, and improve the quality of life and health outcomes for people living with diabetes and other chronic conditions.