Newsletter April 2008

Newsletter April 2008

Welcome to the April 2008 edition of the EPHA Newsletter.
April was a busy month for health, not only with the packed policy agenda in Brussels (see this month’s articles on the Alcohol Forum, conference on Health literacy and others) but also as health issues were consistently making headlines across Europe.
The developing food crisis is hitting Europe as well as other continents and this has provoked a number of responses, from protectionism in some corners, fierce criticism of (...)

Secretariat News April 2008

EPHA working meetings
On 9 and 10 April, EPHA attended a meeting in Paris to talk about the ending of the first working year of the STACS project, STACS is a project bringing science and society closer together, funded by DG Research, FP6. Fore more information, please visit the STACS website
from 21 to 24 April EPHA attended a meeting of the Action For Global Health Network to agree how this years report on Aid Effectiveness is to be finalised an to plan the activites of the network for (...)

Presentation on the Open Method of Coordination (French)

On 15 April, Jessica Imbert gave a presentation on the Open Method of Coordination.
The Open Method of Coordination (OMC) is an intergovernmental means of governance in the European Union, based on the voluntary cooperation of its member states. Initially used for social protection issues, the European Council has decided to extend the OMC to health and longterm care.
The OMC is an instrument which involves ’soft law’ and the setting of targets and indicators on health. This is (...)

European Parliament hearing: Commissioner Vassiliou

Commissioner Vassiliou attended a hearing at the European Parliament on 1 Aprill 2008, in order to approve her appointment as the Cypriot representative on the European Commission. Commissioner Vassiliou is in charge of the health portfolio, replacing Commissioner Kyprianou who resigned to take up the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs in the new Cypriot administration.
The hearing of Commissioner Vassiliou was well attended by MEPs, industry and health NGO representatives, keen to hear (...)

EU DETERMINE project tackles health inequalities

DETERMINE is an EU wide initiative to stimulate action on the social and economic determinants of health inequalities, which is co-funded by the EU Public Health Action Programme. Its main objective is to achieve greater awareness and capacity amongst decision makers in all policy sectors in order to take health and health equity into consideration when developing policies and interventions.
Who are we?
DETERMINE brings together a Consortium of over 50 health bodies, public health and (...)

Spotlight on Europa Donna

Who are we?
EUROPA DONNA- The European Breast Cancer Coalition is Europe’s breast cancer advocacy organisation and is an independent, non profit entity representing patients and citizens interested in breast health in 41 countries across Europe, including all the countries of the European Union.
Who do we represent?
EUROPA DONNA represents 41 national Europa Donna advocacy groups whose members are patients, citizens interested in breast health, and associations concerned with breast (...)

Spotlight on the National Association of Prevention on Alcohol and Addiction (ANPAA)

Who we are
Created in 1872, [ANPAA] has been an official French public organisation since 1880 and has held an educational label since 1974.
Our mission
Consumption of alcohol, tobacco and other psychoactive substances cause important health and social damages.
Our purpose is to promote a general policy of prevention of the risks of alcohol and other psychoactive substances notably:
by constant action towards public authorities and decision-makers,
by health education and by training all (...)

MHE convenes a conference on "Diversity in mental health and well-being"

Mental Health Europe is organising a conference on "DIVERSITY IN MENTAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING. An Opportunity for Intercultural Dialogue". The event will take place on 7-9 August 2008 in Aalborg, Denmark.
The Mental Health Europe Conference 2008 is inspired by the declaration of the European Commission to designate 2008 the "European Year of Intercultural Dialogue".
The conference will look at intercultural dialogue as a means to create and achieve mental health and mental well-being. It (...)

Second issue of ‘Spotlight on the FCTC’

In April the Smokefree Partnership published the second issue of the ‘Spotlight on the FCTC’.
This second issue focuses on second-hand smoke and highlights how the European Commission, European Parliament and EU Member States have met, or in some cases failed to meet, their obligations to tackle second-hand smoke, according to Article 8 of the convention.
The booklet also draws attention to the fact that less than a third of EU Member States have introduced fully comprehensive (...)

"Protecting Health from Climate Change" - World Health Day, 7 April 2008

On occasion of the 2008 "World Health Day" the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union and the World Health Organisation held a conference on "Protecting Health from Climate Change" on 7 April 2008.
2008 World Health Day focused on the need to protect health from the adverse effects of climate change. The theme was selected in recognition that climate change is posing ever growing threats to global public health security.
The celebration of the World Health Day started (...)

EU lobbying transparency a step closer but still some way to go

On 25 March 2008, the transparency group Alter-EU has accused the Commission of relying too heavily on business and industry lobbyists when drawing up EU legislation. In reaction, the Commission has said it will publish a list of individual experts who sit on its advisory groups by the summer. But, a European Parliament committee would like the EU to go further and called for a mandatory register of the estimated 15-20,000 lobbyists.
Background
The European Commission has long consulted (...)

The European Commission adopted a regulation on the use of safe recycled plastics in food packaging

The European Commission has adopted a new regulation to ensure safety of food packaging made of recycled plastics. This new action sets the conditions under which the manufacturers of food contact materials can use recycled plastics.
Regulation (EC) 282/2008 on recycled plastic materials and articles was adopted on 27/03/2008 in order to ensure the safety of food packaging made of recycled plastics. The present Regulation:
Sets the conditions under which the manufacturers of food contact (...)

Funding for research, development and innovation – How to see things more clearly?

The European Commission is preparing a practical guide on the full range of European funding available for research, development and innovation.
The purpose of this guide is to help project sponsors identify the funds best suited to their particular circumstances. The guide will review the various existing Internet sites and information points and explain to what extent several European funds may be combined.
The Commission has launched a public consultation on the draft guide, running (...)

The European Commission announces the names of the European Research Area Board (ERAB) representatives

Despite claims by Janez Potocnik, Commissioner for Science and Research, that civil society is crucial for the European Research Area, DG Research has nominated no civil society representative to its high level Advisory Group on research and science.
The European Commission has established the European Research Area Board (ERAB) as the new consultative body responsible for advising the EU on the realisation of the European Research Area (ERA).
22 people will make up ERAB, coming from the (...)

European Commission package on Development targets the MDGs

On 9 April 2008 the European Commission adopted a Communication highlighting the lack of progress to achieving the eight Millennium Development Goals, three of which are specifically about health. The Commission wishes to see urgent action from the Member States and a leadership role for the EU in the major international fora during the rest of 2008.
The discussions of the Council on the Communication should prepare a common EU line for two major international conferences later this year: (...)

EFSA: food can pass resistant bacteria to people

The use of antibiotics and other anti-microbial agents throughout the food chain contributes to the growth of resistant bacteria which can be passed on to humans through food, EU’s food agency said on 17 April 2008. This must be taken into account in the debate on allowing the Amflora potato in Europe.
The use of antibiotics and other anti-microbial agents throughout the food chain contributes to the growth of resistant bacteria which can be passed on to humans through food, EU’s (...)

Strengthening health systems to control the health effects of climate change, report says

The WHO/Europe’s publication entitled "Protecting health in Europe from climate change" urges European countries to strengthen their health system to respond to health threats due to climate change.
It is generally accepted by the scientific community that climate change affects health through changing weather patterns and altering ecosystems. These aspects are crucial determinants of availability and quality of necessary resources such as water, food and air that shape livelihoods.
The (...)

Eurosafe issues a new report on injuries prevention in the European Union

Injuries in the European Union- Statistics Summary 2003-2005]
On 3 April 2008, Eurosafe issued a new report on injury prevention.
The report "Injuries in the European Union - Statistics Summary 2003 -2005" launched at the beginning of April shows that injury is one of the biggest threats facing Europe today.
The findings highlighted in the report unveil an underestimated reality: in Europe, hundreds of thousands people die every year of injuries and millions become disable.
In fact, every (...)

The Royal College of Physicians issues "Osteoarthritis"

The Royal College of Physicians issued a new publication entitled "Osteoarthritis" that provides guidelines for care and management of osteoarthritis.
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis and one of the leading causes of pain and disability. Frequently described as ’wear and tear’ its symptoms vary from minimal to severe pain and stiffness and its prevalence increases steadily with age.
OA is responsible for considerable morbidity and is a common reason for medical (...)

World Day for Safety and Health at Work 2008: My life, my work, my safe work - 28 April 2008

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) is organising the "World Day for Safety and Health at Work 2008: My life, my work, my safe work - Managing risk in the work environment" on 28 April 2008.
On 28 April 2008, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) is organising the "World Day for Safety and Health at Work 2008: My life, my work, my safe work - Managing risk in the work environment"
World Day for Safety and Health at Work is an international campaign to promote safe, healthy, (...)

Conference: Hospitals and health services in the health society - 14 to 15 May 2008

The German Network of Health Promoting Hospitals (DNGfK) is organising a conference on "Hospitals and health services in the health society : Quo vadis, HPH?" on 14 to 15 May 2008.
The German Network of Health Promoting Hospitals (DNGfK) is organising a conference on "Hospitals and health services in the health society : Quo vadis, HPH?" on 14 to 15 May 2008.
The HPH conference 2008 will discuss these questions around four topics:
Quo vadis, HPH: Health promotion by re-orienting core (...)

6th International Conference on Nutrition and Fitness - 15 to 17 May 2008

The MASTERMIND Group will organise the 6th International Conference on Nutrition and Fitness on 15 to 17 May 2008.
The MASTERMIND Group will organise the 6th International Conference on Nutrition and Fitness on 15 to 17 May 2008.
The Conference serves as a forum for discussion on issues concerning both the scientific community and the general public. The themes are Nutrition and Physical Activity because they are closely related to our general state of health, as evidenced by recent data. (...)

High level conference on mental health, June 2008

The European Commission is organising an "EU High-Level Conference on Mental Health". The event will take place on the 13 June 2008 in Brussels.
This high-level event will be hosted by European Commissioner for Health, Ms Androulla Vassiliou, and she is preparing it with her colleague Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Mr Vladimír Špidla.
The conference will be a follow-up to the consultation on the Commission’s Green Paper on Mental Health of (...)

Online petition to institutionalize the European Patients’ Rights Day

Active Citizenship Network calls upon interested parties to support an online petition to institutionalize the 18 of April as the official European Patients’ Rights Day.
On 18 April Active Citizenship Network is promoting the celebration of a European Patients’ Rights Day in all EU Member States as an occasion to inform, discuss and take commitments to improve patients’ rights in Europe.
This initiative has received the patronage of the European Parliament, the European (...)

European Youth and AIDS Seminar

The Open Society Institute’s Roma Health Project (RHP) is encouraging young Roma activists and civil society members to attend the European Youth and AIDS seminar organized by ARAS - Romanian Association against AIDS in Bucharest (Romania), on June 27-28, 2008. A limited number of scholarships are available to cover participation costs.
Supported by the European Commission, DG SANCO and by OSI’s Roma Health Project, the European Youth and AIDS seminar is the last of a series of 9 (...)

Two people die from vCJD in Spain

Two people have died in Spain after contracting the human form of "mad cow disease", variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) that is is thought to be transmitted in infected meat and bone. Since 2000, more than 800 Spanish have suffered from different types of vCJD.
Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) was first found in humans in 1995 and is thought to be transmitted in infected meat and bone. Since 2000, more than 800 Spanish have suffered from different types of vCJD but the only (...)

Preventing date rape

The Mediterranean Institute of Gender Studies (MIGS) is coordinating a transnational project entitled ’Date Rape Cases Among Young Women and the Development of Good Practices for Support and Prevention,’ funded by the European Commission, Daphne II Programme .
Aims and objectives
The projects has three overriding goals:
Measuring the prevalence and incidence of date rape among female college students in the partner countries, notably: Cyprus, Greece, Malta, Lithuania and Latvia.
Enabling (...)

EU finance ministers agree on the necessity to improve social welfare spending and reform the IMF

European Union finance ministers recently agreed on the necessity to improve health care, welfare and pensions to afford Europe’s generous social safety net in future. The EU nations also agreed on reforms to the European International Monetary Fund (IMF)
European Union finance ministers talked about the possibility of reforming social welfare systems with Europe’s workers facing a growing burden from pensions and health care costs of older people.
There is a need to improve health care, (...)

Fears that reducing junior doctors working hours will compromise patient care

Continuity of care for patients, the quality of training for doctors and the efficiency of hospitals could be compromised when junior doctors hours have to be reduced further next year to meet the requirements of the European Working Time Directive (EWTD), according to the Royal College of Physicians’s Lead on EWTD Professor Roy Pounder.
From August 2009, implementation of the European Working Time Directive (EWTD), will prevent junior doctors from working more that 48 hours per week. The (...)

Building health advocacy in Kosovo

On 24-25 April 2008, EPHA participated as a pannelist to the "European Networking Conference", organised by the Kosovar Civil Society Foundation in Prishtina, Kosovo.
With the financial support of European Agency for Reconstruction (EAR), the Kosovar Civil Society Foundation (KCSF) is enacting the project "Civil Society Organisations in Support of Kosovo’European and Regional Integration’".
Within this framework, KCSF organised a two-day conference entitled "European Networking Conference" (...)

Round Table on Aid Effectiveness and Health

EPHA helps Action for Global Health to organise a round table on health aid effectiveness with current and future EU presidencies, international institutions and NGOs.