International Organisations

EPHA Briefing note on TRIPS, access to medicines and the Novartis case

On January 2006 the Indian authorities rejected an application to patent filed by Novartis on the grounds that the drug was a new form of an old drug, and therefore was not patentable under Indian law.
In other countries where Novartis has a patent, the drug is sold at $2,600 per patient per month. In India, generic versions of this drug are available for less than $200 per patient per month.
Novartis is therefore trying to have the patent decision overturned so that it can sell the drug (...)

EPHA Briefing note on the International Health Regulations

In our increasingly interconnected world international travel is more common for more people and over longer distances, leading to greater concerns over the threats posed by infectious disease outbreaks.
There has long been recognition of the need to put in-place a systematic approach for authorities to respond to such in the form of agreements on international cooperation on infectious diseases.
These agreements have evolved from being rather straightforward and covering a limited number (...)

World Mental Health Day

The 2006 World Mental Health Day Campaign “Building Awareness - Reducing Risk : Mental Illness and Suicide” took place on 10 October. As a leading cause of premature and preventable death, suicide is a major public health issue.
This year’s World Mental Health Day was organised by the World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH) in collaboration with the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP).
The event aims to work towards improving public awareness, reducing (...)

Engaging the health community in environmental health issues - workshop in Paris

The Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) and the United States collaborative of Health and Environment (CHE) are to hold a workshop in Paris entitled networking & engaging health communities in environmental health issues on November 10th 2006.
The aim of the workshop is to bring together key people from the health and environment sectors to exchange views, ideas and look at ways that HEAL, CHE and key constituencies can collaborate and complement each other’s work in 2007. The workshop (...)

Developing national platforms on public health in Estonia

The Network of Estonian Non-profit Orgnaisations (NENO), in cooperation with EPHA, organised a Summer School on Networking, in Estonia from 8 to 9 September 2006.
The Summer School is organised annually for NGO’s in Estonia on current issues.
This year the Summer School focused on the ways of getting social and financial profit by delivering public services or developing enterprise.
The aim was to facilitate NGOs in following their mission and securing much-needed funding.
European Public (...)

EPHA Briefing ’Revision of International Health Regulations’

The WHO European Regional Consultation on the Revision of the International Health Regulations took place in Copenhagen, 9-11 June 2004.
The meeting, which was part of a process started in 1995 to revise the International Health Regulations (IHR), was intended to provide the member states in the WHO European Region with the opportunity to become familiar with the draft revision of the new IHR document and to identify problems and discuss solutions.
A briefing note prepared by the EPHA (...)

World Congress on Public Health, 19-22 April 2004

The World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA) 10th International Congress entitled Sustaining Public Health in a Changing World : Vision to Action will be held in Brighton, UK on 19-22 April 2004.
As public health faces the new challenges, the question arises : is public health in a crisis ? The Congress will bring together public health associations and agencies, teaching institutions, international agencies and NGO’s from all regions of the world, to reflect upon and discuss (...)

International congress on public health

The World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA) will hold its 10th International Congress on Public Health, titled "Sustaining Public Health in a Changing World : Vision to Action", next 19-22 April 2004 in Brighton, England, United Kingdom.
It is hosted by the UK Public Health Association (UKPHA) in collaboration with over 30 other public health organisations across the UK and Europe (including EPHA).
Please, contact the WFPHA Secretariat for further (...)

A call for a UN Environment Organisation

Considering the rapid deterioration of world environment, Friends of the Earth International is calling for the transformation of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) into a UN Environment Organisation which would have the same membership and funding basis as other UN specialised agencies.
Several governments have already expressed their support for this reform.
This organisation would provide effective financial, technical and political support, for the coherent and coordinated improvement (...)

Exploring the health and environment link throughout the world

The World Bank has issued an strategy paper on Health and environment.
The paper, published in October 2001 and writen by economist Ksenhya Lvovsky, highlights the inter-relationship between environment, public health and poverty in the industrialised and developing worlds.
It shows that holistic, multi-sectoral approaches are needed to improve health and particular attention must be given to the needs of the poor who suffer the greatest ill health from environmental (...)

French Journalist wins EU Health Prize for Journalists

The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Health and Consumers launched the EU Health Prize for Journalists in February 2009, as a part of the "Europe for Patients" campaign. The award gave recognition to excellence in journalism that brings awareness to health care issues and patients’ rights.The Prize was awarded in the spirit of respect for media freedom and pluralism and in the context of the Commission’s desire to improve communication between the European Institutions (...)

European Commission and WHO to work together on health

The European Commission (DG SANCO) and the World Health Organisation Regional Office for Europe have launched seven new jointly funded projects in the area of health. The projects will implemented by WHO/Europe over a three-year period.
The overall budget for the projects is 4,232,963, with the European Union’s Public Health Programme covering 60% of the cost. The two organisations will work together at political, technical and operational levels, with the aim of providing better support (...)

Hungarian public health official first director of ECDC

Overview of European Parliament groups

The newly elected European Parliament numbers 732 representatives from all 25 EU Member States. In the 1999-2004 Parliament there were 7 political groups which are now being revised as a result of the electoral success or failure of certain parties. Most of the MEPs have already aligned themselves with one of the political groups.
More information about the composition and political approach of the groups can be found in the attached briefing (...)

Results of Employment, Social and Health Council, 1-2 December 2003

The Employment, Social policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council gathered together 54 Ministers and government representatives and 3 Commissioners in Brussels on 1-2 December 2003. The Agenda included a number of key legislative and policy items :
The meeting adopted Recommendations on Healthy Lifestyles and on Cancer Screening and held a debate on the new proposed European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) which is currently in First reading in the Parliament. The Member States stressed (...)

Industry’s New Marketing Rules - The Latest Stunt ?

Worrying initiatives are being launched in the current debate on advertising and marketing to children.
The latest action of the food and drink industry, as led by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), is a new Framework for Responsible Food and Beverage Marketing Communications.
The framework represents a further effort by industry to self-regulate.
However, the ability of industry to self-regulate has been repeatedly been called into question by scientists, academics, NGOs and (...)

Protecting Children from Internet and TV marketing - Calls for Action

Children are being targeted by junk food manufacturers through internet advertising, chatrooms, text messages and "advergames" on websites, according to a report from the International Obesity Task Force.
The International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) report details how new forms of advertising are increasingly being employed which bypass parental control to target children directly.
Exploitative marketing techniques is an growing reality. The increasing use of the internet among chidren, (...)

WHO European Strategy for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases

The World Health Organzation Europe region (EURO WHO) has recently adopted the European Strategy for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) (NCDs). The 28 page document makes for some interesting reading on ways to tackle the disturbing trend of NCDs.
NCDs account for some 86% of deaths and 77% of the disease burden in the WHO European Region - very disturbing statistics, especially given the fact that these diseases are largely preventable.
Noncommunicable diseases (...)

World Health Statististics 2008

The World Health Organisation has recently published its fourth edition of the World Health Statistics report for 2008.
The document presents the most recent health statistics for the 193 member states of the WHO. This edition includes 10 highlights in health statistics and provides the trend data where applicable.
The document is available online at the WHO website where you can download it in full or in (...)

Health Impact Assessment is increasingly used by policy-makers

The European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies has launched the book "The Effectiveness of Health Impact Assessment : Scope and limitations of supporting decision-making in Europe", on 16 October 2007.
The book is the result of a 3-year research project involving 22 teams from 19 countries, funded under the EU Public health work programme.
Health impact assessment (HIA) is a support tool for intersectoral policy-making. It is used to assess the potential health consequences of (...)

FEANTSA conference and information day on homelessness and employment

The European Federation of National Organisations working with People who are Homeless (FEANTSA) is organising a European conference and an information day on 18 and 19 October in Zaragoza, Spain.
The conference is intended to present the main findings of the European Report on homelessness and employment. But it also stands as an opportunity to meet experts from across Europe, have access to the latest publications on this topic, and visit various employment projects for people who are (...)

World Health Report focuses on Health dimension of Security

The annual World Health Report of the World Health Organisation (WHO) for 2007 addresses the health threats to global security.
This year’s World health report, entitled "A safer future : global public health security in the 21st century", was published on 23 August 2007.
Its message is that more than at any time in history global public health security depends on international cooperation and the willingness of all countries to act effectively in tackling new and emerging threats. (...)

WHO publishes World Health Data for 2007

The World Health Organisation has published the World Health Statistics for 2007 in an updated version of their Statistical Information System (WHOSIS).
This third edition of WHO’s report includes a section with 10 highlights of global health statistics for the past year as well as an expanded set of 50 health statistics.
WHOSIS database can be either used as an on-line tool or downloaded along with the data tables, and allows access to comparative data from across the world.
WHO makes (...)

Information about the health status in the European region

The World Health Organisation has compiled data in different formats : two databases are particularly useful for policy-makers : the European Health for All database and the European mortality database.
The European Health for all database (HFA-DB) provides fast and easy access, in graphical form, to a wide range of basic health statistics on the 53 countries of the WHO European Region. These are the topics of this database :
Demographic and socio- economic indicator
Mortality-based indicators (...)

Injuries and Violence in Europe - A Publication of WHO Europe

The World Health Organisation - Europe has published a book and a summary booklet entitled "Injuries and violence in Europe - Why they matter and what can be done".
Every day in the WHO European Region, injuries kill over 2000 people, put 60 000 in hospital and necessitate outpatient emergency treatment for 600 000. Injuries rank third amongst the Region’s major killers, after cardiovascular diseases and lung cancer.
The book provides detailed data on the harm to individuals and societies (...)

Civil society prepares ’alternative’ World Health Report

On 20 July 2005 the Global Health Watch 2005/6 will be launched as an alternative to the World Health Organisation (WHO) annual World Health Report.
The Global Health Watch is a new project which seeks to articulate civil society’s vision for global health. It is also a platform to strengthen advocacy and campaigns to promote equitable health for all.
The Global Health Watch is the outcome of an initiative taken by the Peoples Health Movement, the Global Equity Gauge Alliance (GEGA) and (...)

EPHA presentation : ’Health in International Treaties, Protocols and Instruments’

Please find below an EPHA presentation on ’Health in International Treaties, Protocols and Instruments’ : what are the precedents for health rights and international law ? How useful are treaties in enforcing health rights ? What are the advantages and disadvantages of taking a rights based approach to health ?
The presentation was given by Tamsin Rose at the EPHA Extraordinary General Meeting in Brussels, December (...)

Low price alcohol still no.1 problem, say hospital staff

A snapshot survey of doctors and nurses treating patients in the UK with alcohol-related harm showed that many believe public health campaigns to be ineffective and that action on sales of low priced alcohol is the most important weapon for tackling the rising tide of alcohol problems.
The survey was carried out by two EPHA members, the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Nursing. It asked gastroenterologists, hepatologists, acute physicians and nurses for their expert (...)

WHO Podcasts - bringing you healthy stories from around the globe

Since January 2007 the WHO podcast has been bringing public health information and related news from around the world for people to listen and learn.
What is a podcast ?
A podcast usually consists of a combination of audio and/or video that is made available for download via syndication. It is this syndication aspect of the delivery that separates a podcast from a file available for download. The files are usually retrieved with software applications (generically known as podcatchers) so (...)

Improving efforts to tackle TB in Europe

2007 has seen several international developments to spur Europe into action on tackling TB. The challenge for 2008 will be to retain this momentum and translate it into policy action.

WHO adopts new guidance on Malaria

WHO guidance on insecticide-treated mosquito nets is changed to recommend that they be universally distributed free of charge.
WHO recommends universal free insecticide-treated mosquito nets to protect against malaria.
On 16 August 2007 the World Health Organization (WHO) issued new global guidance for the use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets to protect people from malaria following successful trials in Kenya. For the first time, WHO recommends that insecticidal nets be long-lasting, (...)

Netherlands commits 30 million euros to combat Deadly Global TB Pandemic

Responding to a tuberculosis (TB) pandemic that is growing more threatening and deadly, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign affairs (DGIS) announced more than 30 million euros investment on 2 November 2006
The investment will be concentrated on three nonprofit Product Development Partnerships (PDPs) that are leading the global effort to develop new TB drugs, vaccines and diagnostics. This is the largest investment that any single country has made to research and development of new tools to (...)

Organisations join forces in the fight against TB in Europe

The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Cresent Societies unite with the World Health Organisation (WHO) , The European Centre for disease prevention and control (ECDC) and several other organisations to launch Stop TB Europe
The organisations have taken the decision to come together in the Stop TB Europe partnership due to an alarming rise in the cases of multi drug-resistant TB and the more recent emergence of extreme drug-resistant TB which does not respond to any mode of (...)

ILO list of occupational diseases under review

The International Labour Organization (ILO) Global Programme on Safety, Health and the Environment, SafeWork aims to create worldwide awareness of the dimensions and consequences of work-related accidents, injuries and diseases ; to place the health and safety of all workers on the international agenda ; and to stimulate and support practical action at all levels.
With this in mind, the programme intends to launch new research, statistical work and media-related activities, and to support (...)

WHO focuses on health of mothers and children

The WHO World Health Report 2005 "Make Every Mother and Child Count" says that this year almost 11 million children under five years of age will die from causes that are largely preventable. Among them are 4 million babies who will not survive the first month of life. At the same time, more than half a million women will die in pregnancy, childbirth or soon after.
The report says that reducing this toll in line with the Millennium Development Goals depends largely on every mother and every (...)

New Global Commission on Social Determinants of Health

Social determinants contribute to most of the global burden of disease and death, as well as the bulk of existing health inequities between and within countries. Throughout the world, vulnerable and socially disadvantaged people have less access to health resources, get sicker and die earlier than people in more privileged social positions.
These unfair gaps are growing in spite of an era of unprecedented global wealth, knowledge and health awareness.
On 18 March 2005, the World Health (...)

WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control enters into force

An International Treaty for Tobacco Control
On 27 February, The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) enters into force, becoming binding international law for its Contracting Parties.
The FCTC is the first global public health treaty created under the auspices of the World Health Organisation. The final text was adopted unanimously in May 2003 (see related EPHA’s article).
Key provisions of the Treaty
The Framework Convention covers all aspects of tobacco control (...)

Eight central European countries to promote Roma inclusion

Eight Central European Countries have launched the project Decade of Roma Inclusion in Sofia (Bulgaria) on 2 February 2005.
The project is sponsored by the Open Society Institute and the World Bank, and it is also supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the European Commission.
Running from 2005 up to 2015, it aims at improving social inclusion and economic status of Roma people. Health condition is on top of the agenda.
Roma Health Data
More than seven million (...)

WHO Euro region agrees a resolution on alcohol-related harm

At its meeting on 22 January 2005, the World Health Organisation Executive Board approved a draft resolution to be presented for adoption by the World Health Assembly in May on “ Public Health Problems caused by harmful use of alcohol ” which emphasises the influence of alcohol consumption on public health.
The WHO notes that alcohol in Europe causes 9.2% of all ill-health and premature death. Between 40% and 60% of deaths from intentional and unintentional injury are (...)

WHO committed to tackle sexual violence issues

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has launched a project called “Sexual Violence Research Initiative” (SVRI).
The idea for the SVRI came out of a May 2000 meeting in Melbourne, Australia attended by representatives from all regions of the world and several networks of organizations working on sexual violence.
It aims at addressing those gaps in research and evaluation of sexual violence.
The SVRI’s website : http://www.who.int/svri/en/ provides information and links on may (...)

OECD guidelines on work/family life balance

The third volume of the OECD series of reports, "Babies and Bosses", was published at the end of October 2004.
The series reviews policies in OECD countries to help parents reconcile work and family commitments and recommends a range of measures to improve results.
Declining fertility rates are a concern in most countries, particularly in Japan, where birth rates are dropping as more people put jobs before childbearing. In Switzerland, as many as 40% of women at age 40 with university (...)

World Health Day 2005 : "Make every mother and child count"

New code of conduct on tobacco for health professionals

Healthcare professional associations agreed on 30 January 2004 to promote a new code of conduct, which asks health professionals to lead by example, and reduce smoking themselves.
A WHO informal meeting of health professional organizations and tobacco control brought together professional associations representing pharmacists, dentists, nurses, midwifes, chiropractors and physicians.
The participants agreed that another important role of health professionals is to introduce tobacco control (...)

Public health in South East Europe : a call to action

A new report urges action on public health in South East Europe to ensure political and social stability. Healing the crisis : a prescription for public health action in South Eastern Europe is published by a partnership of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the Open Society Institute, UNICEF and the UK Department for International Development (DFID).
Countries in South East Europe have been affected by conflict, movements of refugees, and disruption of social and (...)

World Bank warns of AIDS epidemics in the Balkans

The World Bank warns that urgent action is needed to halt the explosion of HIV/AIDS in South-East Europe and the Balkans. The Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region continues to experience the fastest-growing HIV/AIDS epidemic in the world. Russia and Ukraine remain at the forefront of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in ECA, but many other countries are now experiencing rapidly emerging epidemics.
Bulgaria, Croatia, and Romania share several social conditions that have led to a rapid increase in HIV (...)

Governments commit to prioritising social inclusion of Roma

An international conference was held in Budapest on July 1 with government leaders of Central and Southeast Europe endorsing a new approach to reduce poverty among Roma and include them in European society through better education, health care, housing and job opportunities.
The approach includes a ’Decade of Roma Inclusion’ and a Roma Education Fund. The Decade of Roma Inclusion, to start in 2005, will include targets to be agreed over next 12 months. They will likely include goals (...)

New Atlas of health in Europe

The WHO has published a statistical atlas of key health data for the 51 countries of the WHO European region.
The data, covering 1980-2001 includes demographic and population data, figures on mortality and morbidity as well as lifestyle and environmental indicators such as alcohol consumption and road traffic accidents, and types and levels of health care.
The report shows an increasing gap in overall life expectancy between western Europe and the countries of the former Soviet Union which (...)

Only 50% of patients with chronic diseases follow treatment !

New data from the WHO indicates that patients failing to take prescribed medicines for their chronic conditions is a problem throughout the world. This is an increasing concern for conditions such as depression, HIV/AIDS and cardiovascular diseases where treatment needs to be administered by the patient themselves. Only 50% of patients adhere to their treatment regimes in developed countries and in developing countries the figures are even lower.
Noncommunicable diseases (e.g. (...)

Brief History of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome

In early March 2003 the World Health Organization received reports of an outbreak of acute respiratory illness from Viet Nam and South East Asia.
This has been called Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome or SARS. The outbreak has continued to grow with nearly 6000 cases now reported in 30 different countries. Of these about 90% have occurred in mainland China or Hong Kong.
While groups of cases have occurred in other parts of the world (eg Canada), so far less than 1 % of cases have been (...)

EMEA communication : New visual identity, web/e-mail address and organisation chart

This is a communication from the European Medicines Agency. The organisation will be introducing some visual identity, web/e-mail adresses and organisational chart changes shortly.
New visual identity, web/e-mail addresses and organisation chart of the European Medicines Agency
Communication to all Agency partners, stakeholders and the public.
This communication is intended to inform all interested parties about several important changes the European Medicines Agency will be introducing (...)

Rising health costs put pressure on public finances

According to OECD Health Data 2006, health spending continues to rise in OECD countries, growing faster than GDP in every OECD - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development - country (except Finland) between 1990 and 2004.
In most OECD countries, the bulk of healthcare costs is financed through taxes, with 73% of health spending on average publicly funded in 2004. Ensuring sustainable financing of health systems is therefore critical for governments, as health spending as a share (...)

Outcomes of the World Health Asembly - Intergovernmental Working Group on Essential Health Research and IPRs

EPHA attended Médecins Sans Frontières debriefing session on the outcomes of May’s World Health Asembly (WHA). The session focussed on the WHA’s resolution on essential health research and intellectual property rights (IPRs) - see the attached report on WHA Towards a Global Strategy. It was also an opportunity to discuss the key issues and opportunities raised by the newly created intergovernmental working group.
Background Information by MSF The Commission on Intellectual Property and (...)

WHO intergovernmental working group on public health and intellectual property

This article describes the current status of the new intergovernmental working group on public health and intellectual property, as well as the history behind its establishment.
Setting up an intergovernmental working group
An intergovernmental working group on public health and intellectual property, which the World Health Assembly said in May should be set up “immediately”, is scheduled to meet for the first time in December in Geneva.
According to Intellectual Property Watch, (...)

Malaria vaccine developments

An new vaccine in development has shown positive results in paediatric trials against the malaria that is found in the developing world (RTS,S/ASO2A).
The study, published in the "The Lancet", shows the results of a vaccine, developed by GlaxoSmithkline (GSK) Biologics and tested amongst children between one and four years old for a period of six months in Mozambique.
This vaccine was first tested in adults in Belgium, Kenya, The Gambia, and the US. It has since been tested in children in (...)

New WHO training scheme for public health leaders

The World Health Organization has launched a new initiative, the Health Leadership Scheme (HLS) to train the next generation of health leaders.
The WHO will recruit young health professionals to a two-year work and training programme, specifically aimed at strengthening the knowledge and skills essential for leadership roles in public health at all levels - national, regional and global. A grant of US$ 5 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation provides funding for this programme (...)

WHO welcomes Canada’s proposed legislation on access to medicines

The World Health Organization (WHO) welcomed Canada’s recent tabling of new legislation which, if passed, would allow drug manufacturers to export low-cost, quality medicines to the world’s poorest countries.
Canada is the first country to propose changes to its patent legislation to put into practice a decision made by World Trade Organization (WTO) members on 30 August 2003, which allows exports of generic medicines to countries with insufficient pharmaceutical manufacturing.
The (...)

Updates from Cancun : 10 September

Daily update from Jo Leadbeater, European Health NGOs representative in Cancun.
Negotiations got underway today (10 September) at the WTO ministerial in Cancun, with agriculture continuing to dominate the official discussions and the buzz in the hallways.
The proposal by four West African countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali and Chad) to eliminate US cotton subsidies continues to receive a lot of attention.
Cotton was discussed in the plenary with many developing countries expressing (...)

Updates from Cancun : 9 September

Daily update from Jo Leadbeater, European Health NGOs representative in Cancun.
Agriculture
The focus of the summit is agriculture.
The G20 is a major new initiative of developing countries, and is creting a major stir.
They are demanding major reform and confronting the traditional negotiation system which has seen the EU and US proposals adopted with little revision.
This is a substantial confrontation. The US and EU are madly briefing that this is a short term tactical alliance (...)

OECD statistics : healthcare spending on the rise

OECD figures released in June 2003 show that spending on healthcare in most European countries over the past decade has outpaced overall growth in GDP. The main driving force for the higher spending are mounting pharmaceutical bills as costly new drugs are introduced. But the overall length of time that patients stay in hospitals is on the decrease.
There is a trend for lower consumption of alcohol particularly in countries that have previously had high consumption levels such as France, (...)

Spotlight on tackling neglected diseases

The WHO has announced a new initiative to promote research and development into neglected diseases such as leishmaniasis (kala azar), human African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness), and Chagas disease, that afflict the most impoverished in developing countries.
A joint action by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and four eminent public research institutes, the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative or DNDi will work in close collaboration (...)