The Manneken Pis feels the Urge to Act

This initiative was done for ‘An Urge to Act’, a Europe-wide campaign initiated by the European Association of Urology (EAU) Policy Office and supported by a network of stakeholders that aims to move policymakers to recognise the burden of incontinence. Incontinence is a very common urological condition which affects nearly half of all Europeans, so making tangible changes to European health policy on incontinence is vital to improving diagnoses and optimising patient outcomes through increased prevention, better care and access to supportive interventions and treatments.

Not by coincidence, this awareness initiative of dressing the Manneken Pis coincided with the inaugural EUrology Session by the EAU Policy Office. These sessions are designed to inform Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) about various urological conditions and how developing European health policy can alleviate the burden for not only patients, but their carers and society at large. This first session was focused on incontinence and An Urge to Act, informing attendees about the findings from a 2023 Economic Health Report. The report gives more insight in the burden of UI in the European Union (EU) in terms of the prevalence, healthcare costs and environmental impact from 2023 to 2030. The report demonstrates that across all EU countries, the estimated economic burden of UI was €69.1 billion in 2023. The economic analysis presented in this report estimates the economic burden of UI could increase by 25% if no action is taken, to €86.7 billion in 2030.

From initial impressions, the first EUrology Session was a resounding success. Due to the session and its supporting awareness work, fifteen MEPs have expressed interest in joining the coalition to actively support continence care and champion its importance. The session also featured a video by Antonella Sberna, Vice-President of the European Parliament and substitute member of the ENVI Committee, which deals with Environment and Public Health topics. Antonella mentioned the importance of expert groups to make public health topics aware for policymakers, and the importance of having multidisciplinary alliance to bring the experience and knowledge needed to cover a topic. 

 This support is crucial to the next steps of developing robust and lasting continence care policy and bringing attention to the urological conditions that affect many across Europe. If you want to learn more about An Urge to Act and help spread awareness of incontinence, you can learn more on the Urge to Act website and join Urology Week to help spread awareness.