How you can help raise awareness on World Hormone Day 
Join us on 24 April 2025 to mark World Hormone Day and put endocrine health in the spotlight – #BecauseHormonesMatter. 

On 24 April 2025, World Hormone Day will bring people together to raise awareness of the importance of hormone health. There’s still a lot to do, and you can help! Hormones affect nearly every aspect of health, but hormone-related conditions are often underdiagnosed and undertreated. By taking part in World Hormone Day, you will help hormone health get the attention it deserves. 

ESE and the ESE Foundation will be promoting World Hormone Day across traditional and social media channels in the lead-up and on the day itself. Jérôme Bertherat, ESE President, reminds us that, “Together, we can raise awareness of individual actions and call for stronger policies to support the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of endocrine disease.” 

Here are a few ways you can join in and help spread the word that hormones matter: 

• Join the conversation online by using the hashtags #BecauseHormonesMatter and #WorldHormoneDay on social media 
• Promote the small steps towards better hormone health in your online or in-person events 
• Reach out to local or national media to encourage coverage of World Hormone Day 
• Collaborate with endocrine champions in your community who can help share the messages 
• Talk to policymakers who can drive improvements in research, diagnosis and treatment. 

To make it easy for you to take part, ESE has created a Public Outreach Toolkit with materials to download and share, including: 

• World Hormone Day logos 
• Posters and videos 
• Infographics and animations 
• Calendar of awareness days 
• Social media profile picture frame 
• Press release and blog post templates 
• Media pitch checklist and template 
• Quick guide to finding an endocrine champion 
• Tips for using social media. 

You’ll also find recordings of three recent workshops with tips and ideas on how to campaign effectively, covering media and news outreach, engaging with policymakers, and using social media. 

Download the Public Outreach Toolkit here

Do you want to drive policy change? 
World Hormone Day is also a great opportunity to reach out to your political representatives and encourage them to support hormone health initiatives. In addition to the workshop on engaging with policymakers mentioned above, our policy toolkit includes useful materials to help you engage with people who can make decisions to drive real change. This includes: 

• a guide with specific actions you can take at national and regional level 
• key messages about why hormones matter that you can share with policymakers and others 
• a template letter you can adapt and send to your political representatives. 

Download the Policy Toolkit here

If you need help with your World Hormone Day activities, just ask. Let’s spread the word – because hormones matter! 

Find out more at: worldhormoneday.org

Amid many current and upcoming EU legislative debates around chemicals, and more specifically, measures to regulate the continuous high presence of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) in our environment, a joint delegation of experts from ESE and the Endocrine Society met in Brussels on 4 and 5 March with EU Commissioner Roswall and other EU policy makers to address the risks of EDCs for human health, biodiversity and the environment. The delegation of Josef Köhrle, Pauliina Damdimopoulou, Ana Soto, Anne-Simone Parent and Angel Nadal, supported by staff from ESE and the Endocrine Society, had very productive meetings during the two days.  

Meeting with EU Commissioner Roswall 
The highlight of the two-day outreach was the meeting with EU Commissioner Roswall who is responsible within the European Commission for environment, water resilience and a competitive circular economy. She will play a key role in the upcoming European Commission proposal for a revised REACH Regulation which is expected to be published later this year, the PFAS restriction proposal and the ongoing trilogue for the Toy Safety Regulation.  

During this milestone meeting, the importance of endocrinology as a medical specialty was highlighted. With the meeting focusing on EDCs, our experts conveyed the latest science in this area and discussed public health and research priorities in linked disease areas including cancer, obesity, diabetes, infertility, thyroid disease and neurological development. With regards to related current and future EU policies and legislation, the Commissioner was urged to implement a ban on identified as well as suspected EDCs, set higher levels for information requirements for the chemicals industry before launching a new chemical on the EU market, and to instigate group bans of harmful chemicals to avoid regrettable substitution.  

With many current and scheduled legislative files in this area, it was an ideal time for us to brief the Commissioner on the latest scientific developments and enable a more informed decision-making process.  

Meetings with Commission representatives and Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) 
In addition to the Commissioner, the delegation met with the cabinet of Executive Vice-President of the European Commission Teresa Ribera. Together with the members of her cabinet she is responsible for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition. Our experts also had a constructive discussion with representatives of The Directorate General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW). During both meetings the experts stressed the high health, environmental and economic impact of EDCs and urged the Commission’s representatives to take the necessary additional measures needed to accomplish the EU’s ambition to create a toxic-free environment as outlined in the European Green Deal without any further delay.  

Meetings were also held with six MEPs or members of their office. They represented different countries and parties across Europe and the European Parliament. A key meeting was with the office of MEP Pieter Liese (Germany) who is the Health Coordinator for the European People’s Party and a former paediatrician. The mission of our delegation was to provide information to aid his understanding about the health impact of EDCs with a specific focus on the links between EDCs and (endocrine) cancer.  

The experts also met with MEPs Martin Hojsík (Renew Europe Group, Slovakia) and Sirpa Pietikäinen (European People’s Party, Finland). Both support additional measures to tackle EDCs and therefore these meetings focused primarily on exchanging insights and coordinating future efforts. Finally, meetings were held with MEPs Oliver Schenk (European People’s Party, Germany), Elena Nevado del Campo (European People’s Party, Spain) and Javi López (Socialists and Democrats, Spain).  

During all the meetings we felt that the concerns raised were well understood and our scientific input very much appreciated. It reinforced our conviction that there remains an important task for the European endocrine community to continue communicating the science around EDCs and other areas within endocrinology to national and European policymakers.  

On World Obesity Day (4 March), Liesbeth van Rossum gave a presentation in the European Parliament in Brussels during a well-attended event organised by the European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO) and hosted by Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Laurent Castillo (European People's Party, France).  

During her presentation Liesbeth explained why obesity is a chronic disease, how hormonal dysregulation plays a role, and what role societal factors such as an unhealthy food, environment and the presence of EDCs play in the current high incidence of obesity in Europe and globally.  

During the same event Nicolas Chevallier presented extensive research showing that EDCs in our environment contribute to weight gain. These chemicals alter the body’s response to calorie intake, making individuals exposed to EDCs much more likely to develop obesity or remain obese. 

In addition to the science, a central role was given at the event to people living with obesity. Two representatives of the European Coalition for People Living with Obesity (ECPO), Vicki Mooney (Executive Director) and Susie Birney (Secretary), gave moving presentations about the challenges people living with obesity face in daily life.  

It is important for policymakers at the highest levels to become aware of these key messages and we are thankful to EASO for providing experts affiliated with ESE the opportunity to present their scientific messages at this important event.  

For more information about World Obesity Day, EASO or ECPO, please see the World Obesity Day website for Europe. 

On 14 May ESE together with the European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology (ESPE) and the Danish endocrine community are organising an event ’Minimising the impact of endocrine disrupting chemicals on health and environment: A scientific update following the joint congress of ESPE and ESE 2025’ directly following the ESPE-ESE Joint Congress in Copenhagen (10-13 May 2025). The event is supported by Copenhagen Legacy Lab and focuses on the latest research and policy efforts related to the health and environmental impacts of EDCs. The aim of this event is to further the conversation on the impact of EDCs in Denmark, Europe and internationally with the aim to create a positive long-term legacy from the Congress.  
 
Why is this a good time?
The Joint Congress takes place this year shortly before the start of the Danish EU Presidency on the 1 July 2025. This means Denmark will have a leading political role for a period of six months until 31 December 2025. As the new Chair of the Council meetings, Denmark will set the agenda, outline a work programme and facilitate dialogue both at Council meetings and with other EU institutions. Hence the timing of the event provides a unique opportunity to not only help influence the conversation around EDCs in Denmark, but also at the EU level.  
 
Focus of the event 
The event will be divided into two sessions:  

I. A research-oriented session where leading European scientists will present the latest cutting- edge research on EDCs using papers presented at the Joint Congress of ESPE and ESE 2025 as key reference points. This part of the session will also look at future research needs on the basis of the soon-to-be-published EndoCompass Research Roadmap – Directions for the Future of Endocrine Science.  
 
II. A public health and awareness raising session with the active involvement of policy makers, leading experts in the field and civil society groups including representatives of communities that have been directly affected by EDCs. Together they will discuss the current public health and environmental impacts of EDCs with the audience and consider policies that could reduce EDC exposure, especially for groups more prone to the effects of toxicity. 

Highlights in the programme include a tandem talk on fertility and EDCs from both an adult and a paediatric perspective, a talk on New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) and their potential in assessing EDCs, and Members of the European and the national Danish Parliament sharing their perspective on the current policy debate.
 
More information and an opportunity to register for the event 
While the event primarily targets policymakers, NGOs and media in Denmark and the EU, we would also like to welcome ESE and ESPE members with an interest in endocrine disruptors and/or environmental endocrinology to attend. In addition, we will also stream the event online so you can join remotely, and we will share a recording on our website.
 
If you would be interested in attending the event (either in person or online), please register via the event website. Further information will be added shortly about the speakers, the main areas of debates around EDCs and the final event programme. 
 
Spread the news 
Please help us promote this important event by sharing this invitation with policy and science professionals with an interest in environment and endocrine disruption. Together we can change the conversation around EDCs and other endocrine topics and achieve better endocrine health across Europe.  

The EU Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) is the European Union’s long-term budget plan. It sets out the financial priorities and limits for EU spending over a period of seven years, ensuring that the EU's financial resources are used efficiently and effectively to achieve its goals. The MFF covers a wide range of policy areas, including economic development, infrastructure, research, security, agriculture and most importantly, health. 
While the MFF is a long-term plan, it also includes some flexibility mechanisms to adapt to unforeseen circumstances like new crises or emergencies (e.g. the COVID-19 pandemic). These mechanisms help the EU to adjust its budget when needed. 

Why this Framework is currently in the spotlight  
The current MFF is set to expire at the end of 2027 and a new framework will have to be in place by the beginning of 2028. As these budget discussions can be rather lengthy, the Commission proposal will be published in July this year. After that some lively debate is expected between the Council (Member States) and the European Parliament who have a shared responsibility for the adoption of this central piece of EU legislation.  

The new proposed budget by the European Commission is likely to include a significant increase for emerging priorities such as defence, competitiveness and foreign policy. There are growing concerns within the scientific community that this will be at the cost of topics like health and research which, unlike during the previous legislative term, are currently not that high on the agenda of the EU Institutions following the geopolitical challenges Europe is facing.  

A lower budget for health and research would automatically mean less opportunities for research and public health initiatives and could have an adverse impact on the health of the EU population. Moreover, within the already very competitive environment for EU health and research funding, it will become even more challenging for health and research institutions as well as individual researchers to successfully apply.  

What can the endocrine community do to avoid or reduce the expected cuts in health and research? 
On 12 February the European Commission launched seven consultations around the MFF, inviting different groups to respond including “research/scientific community, academia”. The most appropriate consultation for our community is probably the one on “EU funding for competitiveness”, which has a deadline to reply by 6 May 2025. More information about the various consultations can be found on the European Commission website.  

In addition to replying to one or multiple consultations, you can reach out to policymakers at the national or European level and address this issue with them directly, stressing the importance of health research and/or public health measures, ideally also providing concrete examples within the area of endocrinology (e.g. the lack of treatments for many rare endocrine conditions). The soon-to-be-published EndoCompass - Research Roadmap for Better Hormone Health could be instrumental in communicating the importance of (endocrine) science to policymakers.  

ESE is actively working on this issue under the umbrella of the Biomed Alliance in Europe, of which we are an active member. As a first step ESE has recently co-signed a statement highlighting the importance of health funding in the next MFF. More activities are expected to follow by the Biomed Alliance and the broader scientific community.