Health-EU newsletter 241 - Focus

A dream machine – The EU Health Programme turns ideas into actions that benefit EU citizens

Health Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis talks to us about the Third EU Health Programme, gearing up for the High Level Conference on the Programme, which takes place in Brussels on 30 September 2019.

What is the EU Health Programme?

The Health Programme is a funding instrument that supports the development and implementation of health policy and encourages innovation in health. But calling it a funding instrument doesn’t really do it justice – it’s more of a lifeline. The Health Programme supports national authorities and health actors to help prevent citizens from becoming ‘patients’ through health prevention and promotion and protection. It supports European Reference Networks to help people with rare diseases to get the diagnosis and care they need, and it protects all of us by supporting surveillance at points of entry and the rapid identification of rare pathogens.

The Programme also helps the Member States – it co-funds public health interventions and novel initiatives at local, regional and national level, so that good ideas can be turned into good practices and those good practices can then be shared across Europe.

How does it work?

The Third Health Programme(2014 - 2020) has made € 449.4 million available to more than 7300 organisations, such as Member State authorities, academia, NGOs and international organisations. So far more than 350 actions have been funded through grants and tenders; grant funding is generally joint funding, with the Commission covering most part of the overall costs. The Programme is managed by the Commission’s Consumers, Health, Agriculture and Food Executive Agency and is open to organisations in all EU countries, as well as Bosnia Herzegovina, Iceland, Moldova, Norway, and Serbia.

What has it accomplished?

I’m glad you asked! Part of the reason we are holding this conference is to showcase some of the success stories co-financed by the Third Health Programme in various fields such as disease prevention, health systems, health threats and health information. Tangible results have been achieved in many areas, like making sure that medical devices like ultrasound and MRI machines, catheters and cardiac pace makers are safe throughout their periods of use, strengthening cooperation to fight vaccine-preventable diseases and controlling the use of tobacco, which is the number one cause of preventable death.
As you can see, the activities supported by the Health Programme are diverse, but they all contribute to meeting one of four main objectives: 1. to promote health, prevent diseases, and foster supportive environments for healthy lifestyles; 2. to protect citizens from serious cross-border health threats; 3. to contribute to innovative, efficient and sustainable health systems; 4. to facilitate access to better and safer healthcare for Union citizens.

What happens after the Third Health Programme ends in 2020?

As European Commissioner for Health, I am working hard to make sure that there is a strong health dimension in the future 2021-2027 EU budget. We need to keep investing in people and promoting equal opportunities, social protection and inclusion. By doing so, we will contribute to health in many ways, from fighting cancer to improving crisis preparedness. Good health must be the basis on which everything else is built, including our economies and our security. No matter what the future brings, we can only meet it in confidence if we are in good health.

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