Global health expert Ilona Kickbusch speaks in an interview about how different countries are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, the role of the European Union, and why we need a worldwide agreement in order to be better prepared in the future.
Health policies
Birgit Beger, Chief Executive Officer of the European Heart Network, explains in an interview why Europe needs a joint plan to combat cardiovascular disease and what preventative measures should be taken.
Slovenia’s health minister Janez Poklukar in an interview on what worked well in the response by the European Union and the Member States to the COVID-19 pandemic, and why better coordination will be necessary in future.
Herwig Ostermann, Executive Director of Gesundheit Österreich GmbH, talks about scientific evidence as a basis for wide-reaching political decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic and the PHIRI project for improved knowledge transfer in Europe.
Now is the time to strengthen the role of the EU in health policy and to build a European Health Union. This will require appropriate amendments to the EU treaties, writes former European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Vytenis Andriukaitis in his guest contribution.
Portugal’s Minister of Health, Marta Temido; Austria’s Minister of Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection, Rudolf Anschober, and Hans Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe explain what “Dancing with elephants”, the main theme of the European Health Forum Gastein (EHFG) 2020, means to them.
In 2018, as many as 3.1 million cancer cases were diagnosed in Europe. This figure is set to reach 3.9 million by 2040. A strategy presented by the European Commission aims to improve the prevention, early detection, therapy and follow-up treatment of cancer.
Imagine an economy that focuses on achieving population wellbeing and social justice instead of profit and mathematical growth. This may sound utopian, but some governments are already making progress.
Caroline Costongs, Director of EuroHealthNet, explains why health inequalities have been magnified by the COVID-19 pandemic and why subsequent rebuilding must be healthier, more social, and more sustainable.
Vaccine hesitancy is growing in some European countries. Counterstrategies are necessary at a national level and also in cooperation between states.