UEG leads, carries out and engages in a series of public awareness campaigns every year. To ensure that our messages reflect the united voice of the broad community we represent, we actively seek the involvement of our member societies in our key awareness raising activities.
Talking healthy living with WHO
In 2020 we took part in the European Health Forum Gastein with the session ‘‘Science of healthy living: Challenging the status quo to enable healthier choices". Together with Dr Bente Mikklensen, WHO Director on Noncommunicable Diseases, we have discussed the impact of alcohol and unhealthy foods on digestive health, with a focus on the commercial determinants of health and the needed public health interventions.
Our main public awareness campaigns are:
With World Digestive Health Day on May 29, we celebrate Digestive Health Month each May with public awareness campaign focused on the prevalence and impact of often poorly understood and underfunded digestive health conditions.
In 2021 the theme for World Digstive Health Day is ‘’Obesity: An Ongoing Pandemic’’. To mark this occasion and maximize the impact of the Digestive Health Month campaign, we launched a dedicated webpage to raise awareness around obesity and digestive health.
Find Digestive Health Month content and discussions on Twitter via #DigestiveHealthMonth.

Every November, we partner up with the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL), European Alcohol Policy Alliance (Eurocare), European Brain Council (EBC), European Liver Patients’ Association (ELPA), European Federation of Associations of Families of People with Mental Illness (EUFAMI) and European Federation of Addiction Societies (EUFAS) in an EU-level awareness campaign providing information on the negative effects of alcohol and calling for greater policy action to address the problems it can cause.
In 2020 the main theme for the Awareness Week on Alcohol related Harm was Alcohol & Cancer. Our aim was to ensure prevention and reduction of alcohol-related harm is included in EU's Beating Cancer Plan.
In 2021 the campaign will take place from 15 to 19 November, with the theme of “a SAFER Europe”. AWARH 2021 will focus on two specific WHO SAFER interventions: the restrictions or bans of alcohol marketing, sponsorship and promotion; and the use of taxation and pricing policies as a way of reducing alcohol-related harm to society.
Recording of AWARH Webinar on Alcohol and Cancer
On the occasion of the European Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, we support the campaign to call attention to the burden of CRC across Europe. We disseminate information on the incidence of colorectal cancer and stress on the need for implementing screening programmes via social media, newsletters campaigns based on videos, leaflets and position papers.
November 21 marks World Pancreatic Cancer Day (WPCD). As knowledge of pancreatic cancer is alarmingly low, hindering the progress in the fight against this cancer, UEG marks WPCD with an awareness campaign.
Througout the day, we provide information about the disease and of its devastating impact, prompting action to change the outlook for patients and families.
Our partnerships
To strengthen our advocacy work, we are building alliances and are in constant dialogue with health stakeholders in Europe, working together on delivering positive change at policy level across Europe. Our advocacy-related partnerships:
Contact
- M: +43 699 1997 16 42
- T: +43 1 997 16 39