Secretariat News June 2010

1. Activity and communication

2010 EPHA Annual General Assembly EPHA’s 2010 Annual General Assembly took place on 17-18 June 2010 in Brussels. More information on the 2010 AGA highlights, including the Annual Policy Coordination Meeting focusing on EPHA’s 5-Year Strategic Plan, the public debate on ’’What is Public Health?’’, as well as the presentations is available to members here.

A new Executive Committee member was elected at the AGA. EPHA is delighted that Dr. Androulla Eleftheriou of the Thalassaemia International Federation (Cyprus) will be contributing her experience to the Board. More information on Dr. Androulla Eleftheriou can be found here.

As announced in previous member alerts, the EPHA ’’Master Class on Campaigning Methods and Tools’’ on 18 June 2010 took the form of an informal peer learning session, informed by the questions raised in the public event on the same morning. A number of members seized the opportunity to demonstrate the various advocacy approaches they took in recent campaigns. More information is available here

Strategic Planning for EPHA The EPHA 5-Year Strategic Plan has been discussed at the AGA and the ideas generated in the working groups will be thoroughly analysed by the Secretariat before a new draft version will be circulated to members.

Policy Coordination Meeting On 2 June 2010, EPHA held its fifth Policy Coordination Meeting of the year, which brought together various member organisations in order to discuss latest policy and advocacy developments in the public health field. The meeting was well attended by members and enjoyed a lively debate. More information is available here.

European Institutions

European Commission The European Commission held its flagship health meeting - the Open Forum - on 29 and 30 June. The meeting brought together representatives from across Europe to discuss Health in All Policies. EPHA was represented by President Archie Turnbull, who participated during the opening plenary as part of a high-level panel involving Member States, MEPs and the Commission. EPHA’s Secretary General Monika Kosinska participated during the closing plenary as rapporteur and representing the Health Policy Forum in the adoption of the Open Forum Resolution. EPHA organised a workshop on the role of stakeholders in the implementaton of health in all policies.

European Parliament On 14-16 June, a small delegation from EPHA observed the European Parliament plenary session in Strasbourg and used this opportunity to meet with various MEPs on files including Food Information to Consumers, the Written Declaration on the EU Workforce for Health, as well a other declarations supported by the public health community, CAP, the European Citizens’ Initiative and other issues.

The Council

European health ministers have reached an agreement at a meeting of the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (EPSCO) in June 2010 on the ’cross-border healthcare directive’. EPHA listened to the discussions and positions of Member States. For more information please click here.

At the European Council meeting on June 18 the EU 2020 strategy was adopted by EU leaders including an endorssment of targets for poverty reduction. The EU leaders also recommitted to their development targets, MDGs and endorssed the Global Health strategy adopted by their development ministers.

European processes

The European Commission released its proposal on 28 May 2010 and announced that the new Financial Regulation should be operational by 2012. Within the framework of the SME Week, the European Ombudsman Nikiforos Diamandouros organised a seminar, ‘The European Ombudsman and the reform of the EU’s financial rules’. The Ombudsman presented his proposal to the Commission Consultation, as well as other actions he is taking in this area. EPHA attended this seminar and the meeting report is available here.

On 1 July 2010 Belgium took over the six-month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union. It will be the second Presidency since the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty in December 2009. For more information on the priorities of the Belgian Presidency, click here. EPHA has prepared a briefing for members with the main contacts, events and health related priorities of the Belgian presidency.

Structural funds and health EPHA attended the launch of the Committee of the Regions’ Technical Platform for Cooperation on Health which took place on 11 June 2010 at the CoR. The purpose of the conference and workshops was to inform participants about the use of Structural Funds for health investments and evaluate the programme to achieve more sustainable results in the future A summary of the event can be found here.

European budget No news from the EPHA Secretariat in July.

European policies

Diet and Nutrition

In a highly disappointing move, the June plenary session of the European Parliament voted against including traffic lights in the food labelling legislation. At the same time, Members of Parliament voted to include nutrient profiles. EPHA issued a press release on the vote which can be found here.

The EU Platform for action on Diet, Physical activity and Health took place on 1 July 2010 in Brussels. The main issue on the agenda was the evaluation of the Platform of which the EPHA summary can be found here.

EPHA participated in the EFSA’s Consultative Stakeholder Platform meeting in Parma on the 21 and 22 June 2010. The first day was the first meeting of the EFSA working group to enhace stakeholder relationships with the EFSA; The second day discussed among others, endocrine disruptors, food additives and the communication strategy of EFSA.

Denmark has taken further steps towards improving the health of its citizens through a series of tax reforms designed to make "junk food" more expensive. It also goes beyond the European established minimum levels of taxation of products such as alcohol and tobacco. EPHA press release on the Danish initiative is available here

Alcohol

The Fourth European Alcohol Policy Conference was held on 21 and 22 June 2010 by Eurocare, the European Alcohol Policy Alliance. The aim of the Conference was to gather people from a broad range of sectors to exchange and communicate on alcohol-related issues and policies aiming at effectively preventing and reducing alcohol-related harm. More information about the Conference can be found here.

Tobacco

On 31 May 2010, the Smoke Free Partnership organised an event at the European Parliament to celebrate the 2010 World No Tobacco Day. The theme of this year meeting was "Setting the EU tobacco control agenda and celebrating the ’Pledge’". Present at the event, you can find EPHA summary of the event here.

For further information on the 2010 World No Tobacco Day click here

On 8 June 2010, EPHA sent an open letter to Ms Trinidad Jimenez, Minister of Health and Social Policies for Spain, regarding the reform of the tobacco legislation presented on 2 June 2010. The reform aims to broaden the scope of the existing legislation and introduce a smoking ban in all public places in Spain. The Spanish initiative has been welcomed by the European Public Health Alliance as an example for other countries across the world to follow. EPHA letter can be found here.

EPHA co-organised an event in the European Parliament with its member the Royal College of Physicians, on 23 June, in Brussels, on the impact of passive smoking on children. Theodoros Skylakakis MEP (Greece) co-hosted the event, together with Marina Yannakoudakis MEP (UK). The event launched the RCP report on second hand smoking and impact on children at the EU level - this is timely as an EP resolution from November 2009 asked for such research to be conducted. A full report on the events outcomes can be found here.

Mental health

The third thematic event under the European Pact for Mental Health and Well-being was perhaps the last event organised by the Spanish Presidency of the EU. It might be the last, but the topic it dealt with - "Mental health and well-being in older people" - gathered a variety of international and national stakeholders proving the issue to be important, in particular in light of the EU2020 strategy, European mental capital and ageing society. A report and several interesting links can be found here.

In a similar vein, an evening seminar "Toward Europe 2020 – the role of mental capital and well-being’’ organised by Nessa Childres, MEP in the European Parliament, discussed mental capital as a resource for smart growth and how to tackle mental disorders in order to comprehensively contribute to inclusive growth. Please find an article on this seminar here.

Health inequalities

At the beginning of June (7-11 June), EPHA participated and gave a lecture on "EU`s role in tackling health inequalities in the European Union" at the International Summer School on Health Inequalities organised by Poznan Medical University in Poland. Lecturers and participants form Spain, Romania, the Netherlands, Turkey and Poland discussed health inequalities in relation to gender, sexual orientation, migrants, disabled and other vulnerable groups. A role of health workforce in tackling these inequalities was discussed. A report from the meeting will follow.

Chronic disease No news from the Secretariat.

Global Health

Hosted by Mr Michael Cashman, MEP (shadow rapporteur on the Millennium Development Goals) and organised by the European Parliament Working Group on Innovation, Access to Medicines and Poverty-Related Diseases, a debate on "HIV/AIDS treatment gap widening in Sub-Saharan Africa and the European Union`s action" was held on June 23rd. EPHA participated in the meeting and reports on it here.

EPHA participated in the European Commission’s Global Health conference in early June, which brought together leading governmental, academic and civil society organisations from across Europe to discuss the European Commission’s Global Health Strategy. The conference was entitled "Global Health Together we can make it happen". The meeting saw expert workshops during its first day, the outcomes of which were presented to the high level participants on the second day. This second part of the conference was opened by WHO Director Margaret Chan and also saw contributions from the Health Commissioner John Dalli.

At their meeting of 25 June the G8 leaders agreed a new package to combat maternal, newborn and infant health in developing countries. The package announced by the Canadian Prime Minister in Muskoka amounted to $5 billion over five years - although the details of how much of this amount is new commitments rather than allocations of existing commitments remains unclear.

Climate Change No Secretariat News in June.

Agriculture

The public debate on the future of the Common Agriculutre Policy closed on June 12 and the commission has received an overwhelming amount on contributions. The contributions will be present at a summing up conference on July 19 and 20. Both EPHAC and EPHA will participate in the conference. More information is available here.

EPHA presented at the DG AGRI stakeholders group on the Food Aid to Most Deprived Persons Scheme (MDP). The presentation emphasised the need to work towards more sustainaible solutions for diet and social inequalities. For more information see EPHA position on the MDP scheme.

Trade No secretariat news for June.

Pharmaceutical policy

EPHA met with Dr Martin Terberger, Head of the Pharmaceuticals Unit at DG SANCO, on 3 June, to discuss pharmaceutical policy and more specifically pharmacovigilance of medicinal products, falsified medicines and information to patients on prescription only medicines.

Health workforce

The written declaration on EU Health Workforce entered its second month of being open for signatures. At the last official count, on 8 July, it had accumulated 121 signatures; the declaration lapses on 17 September. Full details and materials for members can be found here.

Health literacy

On 23 June, EPHA’s Luiza Bara, the Director of Policy and Strategy, was a speaker in the EP event on Health Literacy, hosted by Antoniya Parvanova MEP and Pat the Cope Gallagher MEP. EPHA’s presentation focused health literacy as a valid public health goal, and an objective of health promotion activities which may empower individuals and contribute to improved lifestyle choices. Nevertheless this cannot be seen as independent from the need to provide health-supporting environments, which tackle the social determinants of health. In the wider context of health information, public authorities have the responsibility to regulate the information available to patients, consumers and the population in general and not only rely on the individuals’ responsibility to increase their health literacy. The event gathered presentations from the Irish National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA), the European Patients Forum, Professor Helmut Brand, Head of the Department of International Health School for Public Health and Primary Care (caphri), Maastricht University and Professor Ilona Kickbusch, Director of the Global Health Programme, The Graduate Institute Geneva.

2. Partnerships

International bodies

EPHA Secretary General Monika Kosinska met with the new Director for Health, Nutrition and Population at the World Bank, Cristian Baeza, together with other civil society and academic organisations to discuss the WB strategy for health. The meeting was part of a series of meetings organised by the bank in order to reach out to civil society and stakeholders.

International Union of Health Promotion Experts World Conference, Geneva EPHA’s Secretary General Monika Kosinska participated during the IUHPE conference as part of a European Commission panel on the impact of EU 2020 on European research funding. The conference was attended by many EPHA members, as the Secretariat was able to nominate participation from amongst its Central and Eastern European members – who had previously indicated interest in an open call organised by EPHA. The conference covered many issues of contemporary interest to EPHA’s work – including central themes on working with private stakeholders, developing health literacy and the creation of a ‘public health handprint’ in line with the carbon footprint methodology.

European public health community

Open Health Forum The Open Health Forum took place on June 29-30. Stakeholders from across Europe came to Brussels for the conference which this year was themed ’’Health In All Policies’’. The plenary session featured speeches from European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy John Dalli and Zsuzsanna Jakob, Regional Director for WHO Europe. Six parallel session were organised by the members of the Open Health Forum Steering Group. EPHA’s President Archie Turnbull participated in the opening plenary on a high-level panel that included MEP Jo Leinen (S&D De), representatives of the Spanish and Belgian Presidencies and the European Commission. The EPHA workshop, which focused on Stakeholder Engagement, featured speakers from the World Economic Forum, the OECD, Tesco Hungary and the World Heart Federation. Please click here for the workshop summary.

Annual Public Health Conference – Amsterdam, Netherlands In addition to its contribution to a public health competencies workshop offered by ASPHER, where EPHA will report on its capacity building activities in Eastern Europe, there will also be an EPHA-organised pre-Conference workshop on Communication and Advocacy, aimed at the public health practitioner community present and a workshop on children and health inequalities during the main conference.

Schools of Public Health in Europe No EPHA news in June.

European civil society

Civil Society Contact Group On 9 June and 8 July, EPHA actively participated in the Steering Group of the Civil Society Contact Group. The meetings focused on discussions linked to the future work of the Group. Moreover, the CSCG sent a letter to EC President Barroso on the European Citizens Initiative pdf/100611_CSCGletter_ECI_final_2_.pdf and a letter on smart regulation, which will be published online later this summer.

Social Platform

EPHA attended the Steering Group of Social Platform on the 8 June 2010 where Social Platform members mainly discussed the Europe 2020 agenda and the flagship initiative on fighting against poverty.

Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation

On the second anniversary of the European Commission lobby register, many lobby groups based in Brussels still refuse to sign up. The Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation in the EU (ALTER-EU) released a press release urging for more transparency. The full press release is available here.

National public health communities

Poland Preparations are under way to organise EPHA’s next capacity building event in September 2010 in Poland. The event will be themed ’’food and agriculture’’ and include a couple of field visits in addition to a one-day conference that will bring together local stakeholders and experts working at EU level to discuss the health impacts of CAP in a country dominated by agriculture.

United Kingdom EPHA Secretary General, Monika Kosinska, participated in a meeting of the International Committee of the Royal College of Nurses, which is currently undertaking a reflection process.

3. Staff

Staff changes

New starters

Gaetana-Tanina (Tania) Orobello joined the team on 5 July as EPHA’s new Finance and Operations Coordinator. An Italian national who grew up in Belgium, Tania is a multilingual, experienced administrator who has gained relevant international work experience in various sectors. She replaces Murielle Chiltz who will leave EPHA at the end of July, as announced in the May 2010 newsletter.

Tania will be the primary contact for administrative, HR, financial and operational questions. She can be reached at tania@epha.org.

For more information on Tania, please see here.

Leavers

On July 2, Lindy Hildergenaar successfully completed her internship at EPHA. She will return to Maastricht University in order to finish off her Masters degree. The EPHA team wishes her all the best for her future career.

We are also very sad to see Eleanor (Ellie) Brooks leave EPHA on 15 July as she will continue her studies at Lancaster University. Ellie’s contribution to the team has been very much appreciated and it was a real pleasure working with her.

Promotions and internal changes No EPHA news in June.

4. Members

On 28 June, EPHA attended the European AIDS Treatment Group’s Stakeholders Meeting, held in Brussels, which brought together representatives of various organisations and structures that closely collaborate with EATG in the achievement of their advocacy objectives. The meeting hosted dynamic debates on questions such as: the access to comprehensive HIV treatment for vulnerable groups; what is needed to improve the monitoring of access to treatment and treatment interruptions within EECA and the role of civil society as a training provider.

Professional Development Programme

EPHA’s 2009-10 Professional Development Programme (PDP) concluded in June and we would like to thank all successful graduates for their contributions and hard work. We hope that the introductory week and Master Classes have provided useful and long-lasting introductory knowledge of the Brussels working environment. It goes without saying that we will keep a close eye on the progress of all participants and we hope that they will be able to access satisfying job opportunities based on the specialist public health and networking skills gained through the PDP.

Preparations for the next 2010-11 PDP are under way and EPHA is currently accepting applications from individuals working on public health issues in our member organisations - junior staff, interns, research students, those wishing to ’’refresh’’ their knowledge, etc. As in previous years, the PDP will be composed of an introductory week starting on 18 Oct 2010 and six follow-up Master Classes which will take place every 6 weeks from December to June 2011. Updated information on the 2010-11 PDP is available here

EPHA encourages its members to circulate this information within their own networks. Registration for the PDP is also open to non-members, in which case there is a fee of 650 Euros per participant for the year.

Re-organisation of EPHA website

The new EPHA dummy web site will be tested over the summer as text from the old site will be gradually moved over.

Executive Committee Meeting

EPHA’s Executive Committee (ExCo) met on 16 June 2010 to discuss and test drive the draft agenda and supporting documents of the June 17-18 AGA. All 2010 ExCo meeting agendas and Minutes are available in the Members only section of the EPHA website

Financial Subcommittee Meeting

EPHA’s Financial Subcommittee also convened on 8 June 2010 during a teleconference to discuss EPHA’s financial state of play that was presented at the AGA. The FinCo meeting agendas and Minutes are also available in the Members only section of the EPHA website

Governance Working Group

Two Governance Working Group teleconferences took place on 9 June and 13 July 2010. An interim report of the group’s work, including a number of recommendations, was presented by EPHA President Archie Turnbull at the AGA. The AGA was happy for the group to proceed with its assigned tasks and to formulate concrete proposals that the Executive Committee would then bring to the EAGA in November.