EU institutions reach a deal on the EU4Health Programme
ECDA welcomes the news of a deal on the EU4Health programme, with a priority on disease prevention and at least 20% of the budget reserved for health promotion and disease prevention by addressing risk factors such as tobacco consumption and the harmful use of alcohol. This is a major step forward in protecting citizens from the rising prevalence of chronic diseases in Europe.
It is ECDA’s understanding that the deal also includes the reinforcement of the mandate and capacity of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the extension of the European Reference Networks (ERNs) to non-communicable diseases and many other actions that will allow to better prevent and control chronic diseases in the EU. Further, strengthened involvement of civil society in the development of annual work programmes will ensure greater synergies between actions and Europeans/patients’ needs.
We encourage EU institutions to rapidly adopt the final text in order for the programme to start in 2021 and to continue to embed chronic diseases within EU and national COVID-19 recovery plans.
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Featured image: retrieved from European Commission website.