Health

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Health ConsumersDirectorate General

• EU Actions in Public Health

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Health Programme 2008-2013 3 Main Objectives

• Improve citizens' health security
• Promote health including the reduction of
  health inequalities
• Generate and disseminate health information and
  knowledge

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Health Security

• Protect citizens against health threats
• develop EU and Member State capacity to respond
  to a cross-border threats
• support development of vaccination policies
• Improve citizens safety
• patient safety
• risk assessment
• organs, substances of human origin and blood
• What is new?
• Particular focus on cross-border health threats
• Development of Community reference laboratories
• Action on patient safety through high-quality
  healthcare

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Promoting Health

• Foster healthier ways of life and the reduction
  of health inequalities
• increase healthy life years
• reduce health inequalities
• co-operation on cross-border care
• Promote healthier ways of life and reduce major
  diseases and injuries by tackling determinants
• Action on key health determinants - tobacco,
  alcohol, nutrition, drugs
• social and physical environment
• What is new?
• Regional policy as key factor in reducing health
  inequalities
• Focus on health ageing and childrens health
• Co-operation between health systems

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Health Information

• Exchange knowledge and best practice
• Support cooperation to enhance best practice
  through, for example, reference networks
• Collect, Analyse and Disseminate Health Knowledge
• Development of health monitoring system with
  appropriate indicators
• Mechanisms for analysis and dissemination
  (reports, Health Portal etc)
• What is new?
• Target added value issues e.g. gender,
  childrens health, rare diseases, mental health
• Focus on citizen-friendly means of dissemination

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Second Health Programme Budget (not including
EFTA contribution)
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Health Information

• European Information coordination and cooperation
• Analysing information for making decisions
• Generating data at European level
• Enabling European comparability of information
• European health information strategy

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Main priorites 2008 - Health Information

• Action on rare diseases
• Cancer
• E-health
• Climate change
• Healthy Life Years Indicators
• European Health Examination Survey
• ECHI
• European Global Health Report
• Communication on European Health Information
  Strategy

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Health Threats

• Mission
• To provide a high level of human health
  protection against communicable diseases and
  other health threats through development of EU
  level actions and strategies and to support the
  actions of the Member States in that area
• To improve preparation and response to public
  health emergencies
• To ensure close coordination with other Community
  policy areas to integrate public health concerns
  in the fields of communicable diseases and other
  health threats
• Three work areas
• TEAM 1
• Preparedness, Exercises, Information, and
  Communication
• TEAM 2
• Prevention, Early warning, Response
  coordination, and Legal measures
• TEAM 3
• Health Security Committee and non-biological
  threats
• 24h/7d on-duty service

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SANCO C3 Health Threats Unit

• TEAM 1
• Trainings and exercises
• Regular HEOF (Health Emergency Operation
  Facility) trainings for SANCO
• Trainings and exercises with Member States
• Information and communication
• HEOF
• Task force on Communication
• Task force on Crisis Management
• Public Health Programme
• TEAM 2
• Implementation of Decision 2119/98/EC
  establishing an EU Network on communicable
  diseases surveillance and control
• Prevention of Communicable Diseases
• Patient safety and antimicrobial resistance
• International Health Regulations
• TEAM 3
• Health Security
• Laboratory issues
• Chemical and radio nuclear issues

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Possible areas of cooperation between DG SANCO
and NDPHS on health threats

• Surveillance and control of communicable diseases
  
• Mainstreaming the subject of health threats
  preparedness and response in other policies

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Main areas of activities on health determinants

• Develop EU level policies on health determinants
  - Develop partnerships for health
• Bring in disease prevention
• Generate and disseminate information and
  knowledge
• Support research efforts
• Facilitate and support national efforts

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A high level of health protection in all
Community policies and activities

• Health strategy 2007 Healthy ageing across
  life cycle
• EU action across health determinants - nutrition
  and physical activity, tobacco, alcohol, mental
  health, .
• Health inequalities and socio-economic issues
• Key settings (schools, the workplace,) and
  population groups (children, the elderly)
• Health to be taken into consideration across EU
  policy areas

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Effective mix of instruments Tobacco policy

• Legislation
• Advertising, Warning messages and pictures
• Products
• Link to international work (FCTC)
• Prevention work Youth campaigns
• 2002-2004 Feel free to say no
• 2005-2008 HELP - 72 Mio /4 years
• 2009/2010 possible new phase
• Network tobacco control initiatives
• Exchange Best Practice and develop European
  projects

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Working across policies Alcohol

• 25 of men and 10 of women consume too much
  alcohol particular problem for young people
• Discussions with governments and stakeholders
• 2006 Communication on alcohol-related harm
• Young people and children
• Road traffic and drink driving
• Adults and the workplace
• Information and awareness raising
• Evidence base
• Work across policies and with Member States
• 2007 Alcohol and Health Forum
• 70 commitments for action
• Open Forum in 2008

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Developing New partnerships Nutrition and
Physical Activity

• Alarming rates of obesity in particular in young
  people diet/activity key health determinants
• EU role in food law (labelling, health claims) -
  agriculture, education, transport, taxation
• Consumer information, advertising and marketing
• Develop new partnerships
• 2004 Roundtable on Obesity
• 2005 Platform on Diet, Physical Activity and
  Health
• A new strategy
• 2005 Green Paper (consultation)
• 2006 White Paper on Nutrition and Physical
  Activity
• 2007 High Level Group Salt initiative

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DEBATE ON THE ISSUES FACING THE HEALTH
WORKFORCE IN EUROPE

• The Commission's Annual Policy Strategy for 2008
  provides for a Green Paper on the health
  workforce which is planned for publication
  towards the end of 2008.

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Patient Safety A Commission Priority in 2008

• Consultation closes 20 May 2008.
• http//ec.europa.eu/health/ph_overview/patient_saf
  ety/consultation_en.htm
• Impact Assessment
• Proposals to address
• Systemic patient safety issues
• Healthcare-associated infections.
• Proposed Commission adoption - Autumn 2008.

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Main Elements of Recommendations

• Likely to address
• Reporting and learning systems
• Sharing information and experience
• Common taxonomy and patient safety indicators
• Patient involvement
• Redress for patients
• Education and training of health professionals
  and healthcare cultures.
• Plus
• Prevention and control of healthcare-associated
  infections.

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Health Law International Unit

• Health law
• Evaluation and monitoring of the EU health law
• Health in all EU legislation
• Safety and quality of human substances
• Directives on blood and tissues cells and
  policy for organs
• Ethical questions
• Tobacco control
• Advertising ban, tobacco products, smoke-free
  environments
• Framework Convention on Tobacco Control
• International
• Enlargement and screening of the EU public health
  law
• Multilateral WHO, OECD and Council of Europe
• Bilateral (CH, US, RU, CN,), regional, and
  global health development

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Exploring the broader international role

• Greater involvement in development of
  international health treaties FCTC, IHR,
  IPR-Access to medicines
• Trade treaties
• European Neighbourhood Programme Countries
• Israel, Jordan, Moldova, Morocco, the Palestinian
  Authority, Tunisia, Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan,
  Egypt, Georgia, Lebanon, Algeria, Belarus, Libya,
  Syria
• Regional health cooperation Northern Dimension,
  South-East Europe, Euromed.
• A growing number of bilateral agreements with
  public health element requested
• e.g. Russia, Switzerland, China, India, USA