Prevention and sport meet towards Milano Cortina 2026: ASST Valtellina and Alto Lario promote collective health and responsibility
The Winter Olympics and Paralympics Milan Cortina 2026 they are getting closer and with them the attention towards the values that sport can transmit in an immediate and universal way grows. Preparation, perseverance, daily commitment and ability to look ahead. These are the same principles that also apply when it comes to health, because no goal can be achieved without patient, continuous and conscious work.
It is precisely from this analogy that it was born “PREVENT TO WIN TOGETHER”the video created by ASST Valtellina and Alto Lario in collaboration with Lombardy Regionwith the aim of raising citizens’ awareness of a topic that is increasingly central to individual well-being and the maintenance of public services: prevention.
Also giving further strength to the message are two faces of sport linked to Valtellina, an area that will be the protagonist of the Olympic event. In fact, in the video they chose to show their face Arianna FontanaOlympic champion and symbol of Italian sport, e Nicolò Cancliniski mountaineering athlete and Italian champion in the Olympic sprint specialty.
A message that speaks to the individual, but which concerns everyone. Prevention does not only mean reducing the risk of falling ill or detecting a disease early, it also means contributing in a concrete way to more effective and equitable healthcare, capable of responding to the needs of the population.
As happens in sport, even in healthcare the difference is made by what happens before the match.
A personal gesture that becomes a public value
Prevention is often considered a personal choice, made up of good habits and periodic checks, but its scope is much broader because it contributes decisively to maintaining the health system’s ability to offer treatment and assistance over time.
Italy, like much of Europe, is facing profound transformations, life expectancy is growing, chronic pathologies are increasing, age-related frailties are multiplying and a demand for health is spreading that is no longer episodic, but continuous; Added to this is the evolution of technologies and therapies, which are increasingly effective but also increasingly complex and expensive.
In this scenario, prevention becomes a truly strategic infrastructure because it allows us to anticipate problems, reduce complications and limit both avoidable hospitalizations and improper access to the emergency room, freeing up resources, time and skills and making it possible to direct investments where they can have the greatest impact.
In other words, Prevention is fundamental for the sustainability of the National Health Systembecause it makes it possible to maintain a high level of care and assistance in the future. Prevention means intercepting early, treating better, avoiding disabling outcomes and reducing pressure on structures, making pathways and resources more efficient which must remain available to everyone.
The words of ASST Valtellina and Alto Lario
The project is part of an awareness-raising process that aims to strengthen the culture of prevention in a widespread way and close to people’s real lives.
“We have chosen to link this message to the occasion of the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympics because sport is an immediate, positive and inclusive language and, in collaboration with the Lombardy Regionwe created this video to invite everyone to feel like protagonists, remembering that prevention is a daily training that allows us to live better and longer and that health is a common good that is built together”, declares Ida RamponiGeneral Manager of ASST Valtellina and Alto Lario.
The technical and health value of the initiative is also underlined Daniele ManiaciDirector of the Functional Prevention Department of ASST Valtellina and Alto Lario.
“When we talk about prevention we talk about measurable and high-impact interventions. Oncology screening, vaccinations, lifestyle surveillance and health promotion reduce the burden of disease, intercept many pathologies early and lower the risk of complications. They are fundamental tools to protect people and to guarantee the health system’s ability to respond in the medium to long term”, explains Maniaci.
Prevention, a “medal” that concerns everyone
Prevention does not end with a single check-up and does not coincide only with early diagnosis; it is a set of actions which, added together, can make a big difference, from adhering to screening to not postponing recommended checks, up to the conscious management of the main risk factors such as sedentary lifestyle, smoking and unhealthy diet. Added to this are the scheduled vaccinations, information through reliable sources and timeliness in contacting professionals if necessary.
This is, after all, the deepest meaning of the video. Prevention is a choice for well-being, but it is also a gesture of collective responsibility, an investment that produces results over time and which contributes to keeping public health strong, making it more capable of responding to citizens’ needs.
Because true victory isn’t just crossing a finish line, it’s getting there healthy, and doing it together.
