Mrs Zsuzsanna Jakab begun working as the first Director of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), in March 2005.
Objectives of the ECDC
Speaking at the European Parliament’s Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) Committee hearing on Monday 10 January 2005, she asserted very clearly 4 broad functions for the future ECDC :
Organising and coordinating the collaboration between EU institutions, Member States and other partners such as the World Health Organisation (WHO), in order to strengthen early warning, develop an independent scientific voice, provide technical assistance and tackle possible emergencies;
Providing updated and clear information to various users;
Establishing strategic partnerships inside and outside the EU;
Communicating actively to all stakeholders involved on the issues.
Mrs Jakab’s Biography
Mrs. Zsuzsanna Jakab is the former Secretary of State in Hungary’s Ministry of Health, Social and Family Affairs. As the most senior civil servant at the ministry she has been responsible for overseeing Hungary’s implementation and management of the EU integration, regarding health policies.
As such, she played a key role in the negotiations leading up to the European Conference on Health and the Environment, held in Budapest in July 2004. Previously she worked as a Director in WHO Europe for 11 years, in charge of the Administration and Management Support. Earlier on, her tasks were to enhance collaboration between WHO Europe and all 52 Member States as well as with international partners.
Criticisms from the scientific community
Senior scientific experts have criticised the nomination of Mrs Jakab, as they believe that she is more an administrator than a scientist. They also claim that the ECDC will have no dedicated laboratories facilities and that its budget will be too small.
They fear that the ECDC might function as an administration more focused on its political exercise rather than concerned by scientific issues.
Mrs Jakab’s letter of motivation
See EPHA’s related articles:
EPHA briefing on the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
Section on the ECDC
