Newsletter April 2007

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 (...)

April 2007 Newsletter

Welcome to the April 2007 edition of the EPHA newsletter!
The International Conference on Health and the EU Enlargement took place between the 16 and 17 of April in Bratislava (Slovakia).
150 participants, 60 speakers, 18 partners involved and 27 European countries represented. The two days event was a mix of plenary sessions, workshops and short presentations where everyone was encouraged to contribute to the debate.
The closing session, a one hour brainstorm with Commission Officials (...)

Secretariat News April 2007

Events that EPHA attended
On 2 April, Hannah Branston and Frazer Goodwin attended the EU expert workshop on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property Rights at the European Paliament in Brussels, regarding the EU’s input to the global debate.
From the afternoon of the 2 April until 5th April Frazer Goodwin attended a meeting of the European Network for Global Health.
On 11 April Silvia, Hannah and Anne attended the ENVI Commitee at the European Parliament in Brussels. Hannah also (...)

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 (...)

International Thalassaemia Day: Quality Treatment for all

The 8 May is the International Thalassaemia Day, dedicated to "Quality Treatment for all" in 2007.
On this occasion, the Thalassaemia International Federation, National Thalassaemia Associations and thalassaemia Medical Centres across the world, organise activities focused on public awareness with regards to Prevention and Clinical Care of Thalassaemia Major.
According to TIF, equal access to appropriate treatment for ALL is of utmost importance and requires above all political (...)

The EPHA family grows - April 2007

Following the General Assembly which took place on 16 April 2007 in Bratislava, EPHA is happy to welcome the following 4 new members.
1) European Federation of Homeopathic Patients’ Associations - EFHPA
The fundamental aim of EFHPA is to see homeopathy as part of the health system of all member states and to encourage the formation of Homeopathic Patients’ Association throughout the EU.
2) European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases - ESCMID
ESCMID is a medical (...)

Training seminar on alcohol related harm and primary care, 4-5 May 2007, Budapest, Hungary

This two day training was organised within the framework of the EPHA project "Building the health community across Europe" and in partnership with Vilans (a project partner).
The main organiser of this event is the European Forum for Primary Care (hosted by Vilans), with several local partners, including the Semmelweis University in Budapest.
The programme of the event can be downloaded below.
For more information, please contact Mr Diederik Aarendonk, Coordinator of the European Forum for (...)

Protect children from pesticides!

EPHA and HEAL (Health and Environment Alliance) have sent letters to Members of the European Parliament advocating for a better protection of vulnerable groups, especially children, against hazardous effects of pesticides.
MEPS from the Agriculture, ITRE and IMCO committees were asked to vote on an opinion on a regulation on the placing of plant protection products on the market as well as a Directive and a Thematic Strategy for the Sustainable Use of Pesticides.
The Health & Environment (...)

2007 first UN Road Safety Week: improving road safety for young people

EU road safety day part of a week of road safety events promoted by the United Nations focusing on improving road safety for youth.
The United Nations has marked the first Global Road Safety week with a number of events and presentations around the world including, the EU road safety day on 27th April. The week had been called for by a UN General Assembly Resolution and its main theme was youth and road safety.
In 2004 the theme of World Health Day had been road safety and the UN road (...)

Enforcing Transatlantic Links Between Environmental NGO’s

The Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL, Europe) and the Collaborative on Health and the Environment (CHE, U.S.) have set up a partnership which aims to raise the level of public and professional dialogue on the impact of the environment on human health.
The partnership will focus on:
Developing a stronger relationship with patients, health professionals and scientific organizations and individuals.
Furthering precautionary approaches to the management of environmental contaminants.
How (...)

Netherlands Beer Cartel Broken up by European Commission Whistleblower

Neelie Kroes, European Commissioner for Competition, announced on 18th April 2007, that the Commission has decided to fine Dutch brewers Heineken, Grolsh and Bavaria a total of €273 million for operating a cartel on the beer market in the Netherlands.
Between at least 1996 and 1999, the brewers made secret and illegal agreements to fix prices, divide up markets and exchange confidential information between the competitors. According to the Commission, this practice kept the price of beer (...)

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 (...)

New plans to improve European Research

New proposals for more effective and focused research have been presented by the European Commission in a Green Paper entitled "The European Research Area: New Perspectives"
These proposals aim to achieve the economic, social and environmental targets outlined by the Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Jobs Drawing upon the Strategy, the European Commission has decided to direct research towards the political objectives contained in it. Freedom for people, infrastructures, organisations, (...)

The European Food Safety Agency fifth Aniversary

The European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) commemorates its fifth aniversary in 2007.
The EFSA began operating in 2002. Provisionally based in Brussels its permanet home is Parma (Italy). During the last five years it has been responsible for providing scientific advice on all matters concerning food safety in the European Union. Its work covers the whole food production process, from primary production to the supply of food to consumers.
In order to increase their visibility and the (...)

WHO to Call for Legislation if Food Industry Doesn’t Reduce Salt Content

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has published a report calling for legislation to be put in place if recommendations to reduce the salt content in processed food continue to be ignored by the food industry.
The WHO recommendations - Reducing salt intake in populations 2007 - call for both governments and industry to commit to reducing the average salt consumption of the adult population to the maximum of 5g salt/day.
If the food industry fails to comply with the recommendations (...)

New health and nutrition claims guidelines for Australia and New Zealand

Food Standards Australia New Zealand- an independent bi-national agency responsible for setting food standards - is developing new standards to regulate nutrition and health claims.
The agency has procduced a Preliminary Final Assesment Report which is now open to an additional round of consultation.
Conceptual framework
According to the Report, claims will be classified as nutrition content claims, general level health claims, and high level health claims. Nutrition content claims are (...)

*UPDATED* European Commission consultation on labelling

*UPDATED with the publication of a report from the European Commission.* The European Commission Directorate General for Health and Consumer Protectionlaunched a consultation to review a number of labelling issues.
In order to increase consistency between the proposals they plan to submit, they have decided to launch a consultation with key stakeholders.
EPHA responded to the consultation (see attached document)
Report on the responses: Labelling: Competitiveness, Consumer information and (...)

**Updated** Public Health and the EU: an overview (2007)

In 2007 EPHA commissioned an update of our 1995 publication "Public Health and the EU: an overview", now available in 20 languages, as part of the activities of our European project "EPHA’s project: Building the public health community across Europe".
The Executive Summaries can be downloaded at the bottom of the page.
"Public Health and the EU: an overview" is an introduction to the wide range of European Union (EU) activities that affect public health.
It aims to inform local, national (...)

*UPDATED* European Seminar on Homelessness - 1 June 2007

EPHA member FEANTSA - the European Federation of National Organisations working with the Homeless held a one-day seminar on Friday 1 June 2007. The Seminar, entitled "Key elements for a successful local homeless strategy: How can Europe support local authorities to improve the fight against homelessness" took place in Brussels at the Committee of the Regions.
The President of the EU Committee of the Regions, Michel Delbarre, spoke at the event on the issue of homelessness. Tools to develop (...)

Is Mass Media Communication sufficient? A systematic review of anti-smoking campaigns (2007)

"Is Mass Media Communication sufficient? A systematic review on the effectiveness of anti-smoking campaigns targeting adolescents" is the result of a one-year research project carried out by Ms Heide Weishaar during her studies on Science in Health Communication (BHC).
During 2005, Heide Weishaar spent several months at the EPHA Secretariat researching for her Bachelor thesis on anti-smoking campaigns.
In Summer 2006 the final thesis was submitted to the tribunal of the University of (...)

A New NGO Action Group on the EU Child Rights Strategy

A new NGO action group has been set up to monitor the EU’s strategy on the rights of the child.
On 17 April, a hearing on the European Commission’s Communication "towards an EU strategy on the rights of the child" was held in the European Parliament. The NGO Action Group prepared a set of key messages to be distriibuted at the hearing.
The International Federation Terre Des Hommes, World Vision, the European Foundation for Street Children Worldwide, Save the Children, EURONET, Eurochild, (...)

What is European Citizenship and who is responsible?

The European Citizen Action Service (ECAS) is concerned that "European citizenship" is an issue that belongs to everyone and yet no one is claiming responsibility for it. ECAS has issued a petition to encourage the European Parliament to create a forum in which this increasingly important issues can be discussed.
Many questions need to be answered regarding what it means to be a European Citizen. The European institutions need to ensure that their policies and processes represent the views (...)

Support for petition: Ending extreme Poverty, a Road to Peace!

The 17th October 2007 is International Day Against Poverty. To mark the day and increase its impact human rights NGOs from four different continents have come together to launch a declaration that calls for all citizens, local and national authorities, and the United Nations to recognise poor and excluded people as key stakeholders in the fight against poverty and ensure that they are able to fully participate in decisions that affect them.
You can support the declaration Ending extreme (...)

EU RIP Cigarettes Alliance or the waifer of paper that would save 1000 lives

The RIP campaign at EU level is coordinated by Florence Berteletti-Kemp at the Smoke-Free Partnership. Created in 2006, The EU RIP Alliance is a new independent and flexible partnership open for membership.
Launched at a hearing in the European Parliament in February 2007, the EU RIP Cigarettes Alliance campaigns for safer cigarretes in Europe.
In view of the fact that it is technologically and economically feasible for cigarettes to meet fire-safety standards, the EU RIP Alliance aims to (...)

*UPDATED* Reforming the EU wine sector

*UPDATED with the adoption of the European Parliament report*. The European Commission unveils its proposal for a reform of the wine sector, ahead of the 2008 reform of the Common Agriculture Policy.
The European Commission’s objectives are to simplify existing rules, making labelling clearer and encourage better quality production.
Annually, the EU produces a surplus of wine which is likely to increase since European producers have lost market to ’new world’ competitors (eg the USA, (...)

Smoke free Partnership launches brand new website

Brussels, (30 April 2007): The Smoke Free Partnership officially launched its website on the 30 April 2007, a resource for individuals and organizations interested in tobacco control in Europe.
www.smokefreepartnership.eu
Despite evidence that tobacco control measures by the European Community and within the Member States have had a positive on smoking rates and saved thousands of lives, smoking still remains the largest single cause of preventable death and disease in Europe.
Partners for (...)

For a smoke free world: sign up to the global voices campaign

Sign-on to the Global Voices Campaign online before 30th of June!
Global Smokefree Partnership kicks off Global Voices Campaign
The campaign was launched on March 23rd, 2007 which marked the 100 day countdown to the second Conference of the Parties (CoP-2) of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) which will meet in Bangkok, Thailand from 30th June until July 6th, 2007.
It aims to mobilize NGO support for best-practice smokefree air laws, to raise awareness of (...)

*UPDATED* New European Rate for Alcohol Duties?

**UPDATED with the opinion of the European Parliament.** The European Commission has proposed to increase the minimum rate of duty payable on alcoholic beverages by 31% because of concerns that the present rate of duty payable on alcohol does not match current levels of inflation.
Duty rates were last set in 1992 and have not been increased since then.
Although minimum rates are set by the EU, national governments have the right to increase duty rates. In fact, many governments do so on (...)

European Parliament report on Social Services of General Interest

The European Parliament has adopted its own-initiative report on Social Services of General Interest.
The report makes clear that SSGIs are one of the pillars of the European Social model.
The rapporteur, Joel Hasse Ferreira (PT - PES), criticises the European Commission approach for not being clear enough about the terminology: the European Parliament therefore calls for the European Commission to clarify concepts such as ’public services’, ’services of general interest", ’services of (...)

The HON code: improving online health information

The Health On the Net code has been created for evaluating medical websites. It sets up eight ethical standards in the presentation of health information on internet and aims to make sure readers know the source and purpose of the information they read.
Created by the Health On the Net Foundation, the code has been adopted by the French National Authority for Health as an accreditation system for website giving medical information.
What is the HON Code?
The HON code defines a set of rules (...)