Bridging the Health Divide in Europe: reduce avoidable health inequalities and preventable respiratory diseases

Exchanging experiences to reduce avoidable health inequalities and preventable respiratory diseases were the focus of this year’s European Respiratory Society’s Summit "Bridging the Health Divide in Europe".


The European Respiratory Society (ERS) hosted a Summit on health inequalities and Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in Tallinn in Estonia on June 8th and 9th 2012 to build on the goals set out in the Tallinn Charter: Health Systems for Health and Wealth; address health inequalities in Non-communicable diseases (NCDs); provide input into the WHO Health 2020 policy, being drafted in 2012; and EU policy.

The Summit kicked off the implementation of the objectives of the first ever European Respiratory Roadmap and produced a report focusing on disease specific concerns and preventable diseases commonly associated with health inequalities such as tobacco, tuberculosis, cystic fibrosis and chronic non–communicable respiratory diseases.

The summit gathered civil society, scientists, researchers, WHO, governments, the European Commission and other stakeholders to look at whole-of-society ways to tackle the health divide in Europe.

Seizing the opportunity, EPHA representative brought over main outcomes of EPHA Annual Conference on the impact of the economic crisis on health systems, calling for greater prioritisation of the impact on the vulnerable, making a case of economic and societal costs that these bring, and going beyond the traditional health and institutional stakeholders.

EPHA related articles

- European Charter for Health Equity - open for signatures through 2012

- EU Health Policy Forum calls on the European Commission to take action on chronic disease

- EPHA speaks at Polish Presidency conference on Childhood Chronic Respiratory Diseases

- Governance Working Group Minutes (2010-present)

- Tackling the burden of non-communicable diseases through intersectoral action – WHO publication

- EPHA’s contributions to chronic diseases consultations

- UN Summit on non communicable diseases: political momentum but no concrete targets

- New action plan to address non-communicable diseases in Europe

- EPHA calls for greater partnership with civil society and stronger focus on child health in Health 2020 policy framework and draft European Action Plan for Strengthening Public Health Capacities and Services (EAP/PHS)

- Extend healthy life years by tackling chronic diseases in a life-course approach

Last modified on June 27 2012.