On 19 May 2021, Ukraine announced that the Ministry of Health of Ukraine along with the National Health Service of Ukraine support and have signed the Declaration for Action on Stroke.

The European Stroke Organisation in partnership with the Stroke Alliance for Europe launched the Declaration on European Stroke Awareness Day, 11 May 2021. This initiative aims to encourage European countries to show their commitment to improving stroke prevention, treatment, care and support, by signing the Stroke Action Plan for Europe Declaration and add their voice to the fight against stroke across Europe.

In 2020 acute stroke care was recognised as a priority in Ukraine where stroke mortality is higher than in most European countries:

• It is estimated that up to 130,000 strokes occur in Ukraine each year
• 30-40% of people who have a stroke die within the first month from the onset
• About 70% of stroke survivors have persistent neurological deficits that affect their lives
• One third of stroke patients in our country are people of working age.

Dr Andriy Vilensky, Head of the National Health Service of Ukraine said,  ‘…timely and effective medical care increases the chances of a full recovery of the patients and can save their lives…. we have found that in 2020 in the contracted facilities the in-hospital stroke case-fatality rate fell by 6%. We strongly believe, the main reason for this was that these patients were admitted to hospitals that had an opportunity to provide quality care. These are good results of the first months of implementing a new approach to the organisation and payment for medical services in acute stroke in Ukraine.’

Dr Francesca Romana Pezzella, Co-Chair of the Stroke Action Plan for Europe Steering Committee added, ‘This is a fundamental milestone in the implementation of the Stroke Action Plan in Ukraine, and an important achievement towards the plan’s progress in Europe. Ukraine is, in fact, among the first of the countries participating in the SAP-E to have officially endorsed the Declaration. We hereby acknowledge the support this document received from the authorities that have signed it, and the successful efforts of the Ukrainian Anti-Stroke Association in raising the awareness about our objectives, networking and communicating tirelessly with all interested parties, promoting the importance of the Declaration and setting a challenging example for the other national teams, committed to the same result’.

It is estimated that over one million people in Europe have a stroke and 460,000 die as a result of a stroke every year and almost 10 million people are living with the impact of stroke. The costs related to stroke in Europe were recently estimated as high as €60 billion and are predicted to increase to rise to €86 billion, a 44% increase, by 2040.

The Stroke Alliance for Europe and the European Stroke Organisation are calling on health ministries across Europe to support the Declaration for Action on Stroke to reduce the burden of stroke in Europe.

Join Ukraine and others – find out more at https://actionplan.eso-stroke.org/

For more information contact:

ESO Head Office

esoinfo@eso-stroke.org

Notes to editors

The Stroke Action Plan for Europe

To reduce the burden of stroke and address its long-term consequences, the European Stroke Organisation (ESO) and the Stroke Alliance for Europe (SAFE) published the Stroke Action Plan for Europe (SAP-E) 2018-2030. In consultation with 70 experts who reviewed the best practice evidence and current state of stroke care, the resulting plan sets out targets and recommendations across the whole care pathway that countries and healthcare systems across Europe can implement by 2030.

The SAP-E focuses on seven domains: primary prevention, organisation of stroke care; acute stroke care; secondary prevention, rehabilitation, evaluation of outcomes and life after stroke.

The SAP-E is a framework to drive healthcare policy, patient-focused care local stroke management and research priorities.

The SAP-E includes four targets for 2030:

1. To reduce the number of strokes in Europe by 10%
2. To treat 90% or more of all patients with stroke in Europe in a dedicated stroke unit as the first level of care
3. To have national plans for stroke incorporating the whole chain of care from primary prevention through to life after stroke
4. To fully implement national strategies for multisector public health interventions to promote and facilitate a healthy lifestyle and reduce environmental, socio-economic and educational factors that increase the risk of stroke.

About ESO

The European Stroke Organisation (ESO) is a pan-European society of stroke researchers and physicians, national and regional stroke societies and lay organisations founded in 2007. The aim of ESO is to reduce the burden of stroke by changing the way that stroke is viewed and treated. This can only be achieved by professional and public education, and by making institutional changes. ESO serves as the voice of stroke in Europe, taking action to reduce the burden of stroke regionally and globally. www.eso-stroke.org

About SAFE

The Stroke Alliance for Europe (SAFE) an international non-profit-making organisation formed in 2004 in Brussels, Belgium. It is the voice of stroke patients in Europe, representing a range of stroke support organisations from more than 30 European countries.

SAFE’s goal is to decrease the number of strokes in Europe by advocating for better prevention, access to adequate treatment, post-stroke care and rehabilitation.

For more information about SAFE, please visit www.safestroke.eu.