Health
Health are positioned as a spearhead in this new period. The pandemic has had a major impact on health policies, including European collaboration programmes.
Health research and innovation are positioned as a spearhead in this new period. The pandemic has had a major impact on health policies, including European collaboration programmes such as Horizon Europe, which has highlighted the need to be prepared at European and international level to manage the pandemic. The extreme situation has shown that it is possible to work on R&D&I projects in health in a coordinated manner, share data or carry out centralised purchases of medicines and vaccines to avoid inequalities in access to health between member countries.
The most significant development has been the creation of the European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) to prevent, detect and respond rapidly to health emergencies. The HERA is becoming a key pillar of the European Union in the field of health. Since its establishment in September 2021, HERA has worked with Member States and various stakeholders, including industry and civil society to develop activities to improve preparedness and response to health threats in the field of medical countermeasures.
The cooperation in Health
The cooperation of different actors in health development is essential because health problems cannot be solved individually. With this form of collaboration, the main benefits are related to the improvement of the quality of life of citizens and the strategic improvement of health systems.
Currently, chronic and infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance are some of the fronts where the sector is most involved. In addition, the ageing population must be addressed: the number of people over 65 in the EU will have grown by 70% by 2050. In addition, the fight against cancer must be taken into account, as one of the 5 missions set out by Horizon Europe in its programme.