12 May 2026 | XX European Patients’ Rights Day
As Europe faces a growing burden of chronic diseases and an ageing population, strengthening prevention is a key priority. Today, advances in science and technology allow a shift towards personalised prevention, tailored to each individual’s characteristics, risk factors, and needs. The European Patients’ Rights Day 2026 will focus on recognising personalised prevention as a human right, linked to the Right to Preventive Measures stated in the European Charter of Patients’ Rights.
The event will build on the results of the EU-funded PROPHET project and explore how to make personalised prevention a reality, addressing key issues such as health literacy, data protection, trust, equity of access, and citizen engagement.
Why personalised prevention matters: This new paradigm, which integrates genomic data, lifestyles, risk factors, and personal preferences, not only promises greater effectiveness in terms of early diagnosis and disease prevention. It 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 achieve its full societal impact.
Event focus: Opportunities and challenges for personalised prevention in Europe - The role of EU institutions and the different stakeholders in making prevention an enforceable right - The importance of engaging citizens and patients in prevention strategies
Speakers include
Moderator: Mariam Zaidi, journalist
- Brando Benifei, Member of the European Parliament, S&D Group, Italy
- Daniela Quaggia, Cittadinanzattiva – Active Citizenship Network
- Carmen La Plaza, Head of Unit, Health Innovations & Ecosystems, European Commission
- Luigi Russo, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (UCSC), PROPHET Coordinator
- Carla van El, Amsterdam University Medical Center (Amsterdam UMC)
- Yasemin Zeisl, European Patients’ Forum (EPF)
- Prof. Martina Cornel, European Society of Human Genetics
- Matteo Gentili, Fondazione Toscana Life Sciences, European Partnership on Personalised Medicine EP PerMed
- Nathalie Moll, Director General, EFPIA
