Newsletter December 2003

Working Parties for the EU Public Health Programme

The EU Public Health Programme has three key strands of action: Health Information Systems (Strand 1), Rapid response to health threats (Strand 2) and Health determinants (Strand 3). As part of Strand 1, DG SANCO will create a number of working parties which are designed to advise on further development work in the specific field. Working Parties that will be established The working parties will run for the length of the EU Public Health Programme (2003-2008) and may involve sub-groups or (...)

EPHA position paper on nutrition and health claims

The European Commission has proposed a Regulation on Nutrition and Health Claims Made on Foods and the draft text is being discussed by the European Parliament and the Council. The aim of the Regulation is to limit misleading or confusing marketing claims on food products and help consumers to make informed choices about their food purchases and diet. EPHA has extensively consulted its members organisations and produced a position paper on the draft Regulation, highlighting the importance (...)

Secretariat activity in December 2003

70 NGO representatives from 29 countries participated in an NGO strategy conference on 15-16 December 2003 in Brussels organised by EPHA and Eco-Forum. The event was linked to preparations for the Budapest conference on on Environment and Health in June 2004 and was hosted by the Belgian government and a grant from the WHO. A conference report will be available in the coming weeks. Genon Jensen and many EPHA members participated in the European Commission’s Consultative Working Group (...)

December 2003 newsletter

Welcome to the December 2003 edition of the EPHA newsletter. The Italian Presidency closed with the collapse of the InterGovernmental Conference with no agreement on a new EU Treaty. The row over voting weights for Member States, particularly for Poland and Spain, could not be solved. The failure of the talks with not affect EU enlargement in May 2004 because the institutional arrangements from the 2000 Nice Treaty will remain in force until 2009. After the intense negotiations of late (...)

EPHA Presentation - The pros and cons of participating in EU programmes

EPHA General Secretary Tamsin Rose made a presentation on 12 December 2003 on the advantages and disadvantages for NGOs of submitting projects for EU funding. The conference was organised in Sofia, Bulgaria by the Ministry of Health, the Partnership for health consortium and supported by DG SANCO. The conference was opened by the Bulgarian Minister of Health and was designed to encourage local NGOs to participate in the EU Public Health Programme. More than 80 health professionals and NGOs (...)

Task force on rare diseases launched

DG SANCO is launching a Taskforce on rare diseases in Luxembourg on 21 January 2004 to outline the results of the former EU Rare Diseases Programme and to assess the status of rare diseases in the EU Public Health Programme (2003 - 2008). The taskforce is an output of the Morbidity and Mortality Working Party convened by DG SANCO. The Taskforce consists of experts from the WHO, EU Member States (existing and CEE accession countries), DG Research, EMEA and Eurostat. Additional members (...)

EU survey on health, food, alcohol and safety - December 2003

A Eurobarometer survey published in December 2003 examines incidence of chronic illness, long-term treatment and dental health in the existing 15 countries of the EU. The European Commission’s report also provides more depth on health maintenance through doctor’s visits and various screening tests. Women’s health, safety and children’s safety are also examined in detail. The sample reveals the prevalence of chronic illness across the EU, rheumatism/arthritis (22 %), (...)

German region re-orients healthcare towards prevention - December 2003

German Region of Bavaria consults citizens on how to prioritise health promotion and prevention. The Bavarian Regional Minister for Health, Mr Eberhard Sinner has launched a new Citizens Report. It addresses the issue of health policy by asking the key question of how the health system can be directed to prevention and health promotion. The methodology used to develop the citizens report has already been used to assess opinions on consumer protection. 400 citizens have been randomly (...)

New book on child public health - December 2003

A new publication provides a public health approach to health issues for children and young people in the developed world EPHA has received a copy of a book published last month, called Child Public Health, written by M. Blair, S. Stewart-Brown, T. Waterston, and R. Crowther. This book is targeted at public health practitioners and clinicians. The contents include: Child health in the UK Child health - the global context Child public health - lessons from the past Key concepts (...)

EPHA briefing note on the Final report on EU patient mobility

The High Reflection Process examining the issue of patient mobility releases its final report and recommendations The High Reflection Process, much criticised for its lack of transparency, released its report about the consequences of patients seeking treatment in other Member States (MS). For the benefit of our members EPHA produced a briefing paper in October 2003, which provided a simplified overview of the process thus far. In response to this final report, EPHA has produced a second (...)