Brussels, 20/11/2014 (Agence Europe) - The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has a good capacity of quickly reacting to health threats and performing in crisis conditions.
This is the conclusion of an independent external study carried out by the Italian Economisti Associati group, which was published on Wednesday 19 November. The ECDC provides quality expertise in all areas of action, has scientific credibility and is a source of EU level added value. The study explains that the Commission and Member States have come to rely on the rapid risk assessments that ECDC produces within 24 to 48 hours of spotting a potential cross-border outbreak.
Françoise Weber, the chair of ECDC's Management Board, welcomed the fact that, “Over the past decade ECDC has helped the EU and Member States strengthen their defences against epidemics and outbreaks. The Centre has established itself as the hub of a strong network linking the key experts and public health laboratories across Europe… It is currently a major asset for Europe in responding to the Ebola threat”. Following publication of the report, the ECDC appointed a Drafting Group to develop recommendations for action in response to it. These recommendations will be presented for endorsement by the Board in March 2015. The report can be consulted at:
http://ecdc.europa.eu/en/aboutus/Key%20Documents/ECDC-external-evaluation-2014.pdf . (IL)