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Health, wealth and equity

Relationship between economic growth, wealth, and health is a long long-standing and ongoing debate. One of the issues is to discuss whether growth and technological innovation in themselves automatically deliver better health and well being for all or can they aggravate inequalities of access to health, especially for vulnerable groups

EPHA believes that the conditions in which people are born and live impact on their lifestyles and behaviours. This means that wealth, revenues, education, housing, living conditions, employment, the cultural background, discriminations (etc...) are all factors that will impact what they eat, drink, and breathe.

EPHA considers that the current approach to policy making puts too much emphasis on conditions to improve competitiveness in economic sectors without due attention to the public interest, including health and well-being.

In this section, EPHA aims to explore:
- the role of innovation and research in health
- the socio economic conditions in which people live, including indicators going beyond GDP
- Transparency and democratic governance in health policy making.

About: Trade and Health , Civil Society , Ageing and Older People , Research , Transparency , Economic crisis , better regulation , equity , Health Inequalities , governance , financial , Innovation , economic policies , exclusion , Health in all policies , social inclusion , Roma , Europe 2020 , discrimination , migration , beyond-GDP , employment , health economics , equality , Fundamental Rights

16/03/2013

[e-petition - UK] Minimum unit price for alcohol will save lives

The British Medical Association has launched an e-petition to call on the UK government not to backtrack on its plans to introduce minimum unit pricing (MUP). MUP is shown in models and in practice in Canada to help reduce the harm associated with the heaviest forms of drinking - and in effect will eliminate the bottom end supermarket and low brand lagers and ciders that are bought in high volume and consumed by the most vulnerable parts of our populations. With this e-petition, the (...)
About : Addictive and harmful substances and behaviours , alcohol , Chronic Diseases , Social Issues , tobacco and smoking , Trade and Health
4/02/2013

Tobacco Product Directive: Commission proposes bigger health warnings & no plain packaging at EU level

After weeks of intense debates, pressure from the public health community and the resignation of the Health Commissioner, the European Commission has adopted its proposal to revise the Tobacco Product Directive. It is now for adoption/revision by the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers. It is expected to be adopted in 2014, before the end of the Parliament term. The Tobacco Product Directive will rule how tobacco products can be manufactured, presented and sold. Content of (...)
About : second-hand smoke , Addictive and harmful substances and behaviours , tobacco and smoking , Trade and Health
4/02/2013

European Commission taken to Court over privileged access for corporates in EU-India free trade talks

Corporate Europe Observatory launched a legal action against the European Commission for witholding information related to the EU free trade negotiations with India, while sharing the same information with corporate lobbyists. The European Court of Justice will hear the case on January 11 2013. CEO accuses the Commission of discriminating in favour of corporate lobby groups and of violating the EU’s transparency rules. The lawsuit (T-93/11) concerns 17 documents related to the (...)
About : Access to Medicines , better regulation , Development and Health , European Commission , global health , Pharmaceuticals and Medicines , Trade and Health , Transparency
29/09/2012

EU Sugar Regime - should the public health community be concerned?

The European Union (EU) is the world’s biggest producer of beet sugar and the principal importer of raw cane sugar for refining. The EU sugar market is regulated by production quotas (dating back to 1968), a minimum beet price and trade mechanisms. However, the Commission’s legislative proposals for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for 2013 includes no proposal to continue the sugar production quota regime after 2015. An intense struggle is underway between EU sugar (...)
About : agriculture , CAP , CAP reform , Development and Health , financial , food, diet and nutrition , poverty and health , Social Issues , Trade and Health
31/08/2012

CAP reform towards 2020 – has it delivered what stakeholders expected?

The European Public Health and Agriculture Consortium, of which EPHA is a member, has strongly reacted to Commissioner Ciolos question on whether the CAP reform has delivered what civil society demanded of it: They have told him that "We are about to miss a huge opportunity to align European agriculture and food policy to meet the challenges of food for good health!" “We are about to miss a huge opportunity to align European agriculture and food policy to meet the challenges of food (...)
About : CAP , CAP reform , Development and Health , environment , food security , food, diet and nutrition , obesity , Trade and Health
20/03/2012

One death every six seconds due to tobacco - WHO global report 2012

The World Health Organisation published a report providing information on the proportion of adult deaths due to tobacco. It shows that five million people died because of tobacco in 2004: one person every six seconds. It estimates that one billion people are projected to die during the 21st century unless strong actions are taken. WHO global report: mortality attributable to tobacco builds on the WHO’s 2009 report "Global health risks: mortality and burden of disease attributable to (...)
About : second-hand smoke , global health , tobacco and smoking , Trade and Health , WHO
1/03/2012

Getting drugs online: Illegal online pharmacies target young people

The International Narcotics Control Board published its Annual report 2011 in which it warns that an increasing number of illegal Internet pharmacies in the world target young audiences via social media - increasing risks of long-term addiction to medicines. The International Narcotics Control Board has chosen to highlight this new trend as national and international regulations find it difficult to address the issue so far. The Annual report 2011 points out that illicit drugs or (...)
About : Access to Medicines , counterfeit , Drugs and Substance Dependance , eHealth , global health , Pharmaceuticals and Medicines , pharmacovigilance , rights of people with disabilities , Trade and Health , youth
4/06/2011

Food For Everyone: Towards a Global Deal

On the 23rd of May the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) hosted a conference on global food security under the title “Food for Everyone: Towards a Global Deal”. The purpose of the event was to explore and understand the issue of food security and propose solutions supporting the achievement of the MGDs. With close to one billion people worldwide suffering from hunger1, and a much higher number from malnutrition, food security is again placed high on the political (...)
About : agriculture , biodiversity , CAP , CAP reform , climate change , EESC , energy , environment , food security , food, diet and nutrition , malnutrition , Millenium Development Goals , obesity , Trade and Health , Transport , vulnerable groups
12/12/2011

EPHA position on the modernisation of EU public procurement policy

EPHA has submitted its response to the EC consultation on the Green Paper on the modernisation of EU public procurement policy - Towards a more efficient European procurement market. EPHA’s response argues that public procurement rules must be more flexible where public health and social objectives are concerned so that they can be considered at all successive stages of the process. EPHA response to the Consultation on the modernisation of EU public procurement policy - Towards a (...)
About : Civil Society , health economics , Health Inequalities , health system , Healthcare services , public health , Services General Interest (SGI) , single market , social inclusion , Social Issues , social policy , Trade and Health
1/04/2011

EPHA and EPHAC analysis of the EP reports on the Common Agriculture Policy

The European Parliament works on its position on the reform of the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP). Based on its position on the reform of the CAP, EPHA and EPHAC (the European Public Health and Agriculture Consortium) have made an analysis of the draft reports of the European Parliament The EP draft report on the CAP towards 2020 was pubished by the Committee for Agriculture and Rural Development on Febuary 15. The draft report was prepared by Albert Dess MEP (Germany, EPP). The main (...)
About : agriculture , biodiversity , Cancer , CAP , CAP reform , cardiovascular , children and adolescents , Civil Society , climate change , economic policies , environment , European Commission , European Parliament , farmers , food safety , food security , food, diet and nutrition , Gender Issues , Healthy diets and food , impact assessment , malnutrition , Non-communicable diseases , obesity , poverty and health , public health , social determinants of health , Social Issues , Trade and Health , vulnerable groups

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