The EU’s ambitions on global health and the leadership role it intends to play were welcomed by the European Parliament during a debate, on Wednesday 19 April, which gave the Swedish Presidency the opportunity to outline the conclusions it is preparing for May on the strategy adopted at the end of November as a pillar of the EU’s external policy (see EUROPE 13141/21).
According to the Swedish Minister for EU Affairs, Jessika Roswall, the conclusions will focus on three elements: - building a global understanding of health in line with the WHO’s goals for healthy societies, health systems and health security; - increasing the commitment of all relevant sectors and available instruments to improve health; - renewing partnerships, in particular regional partnerships.
Implementation will require a coordinated approach by the EU and its Member States, bringing together public and private partners at national and international level, but also civil society and academia, she said. It will also require coordination of all EU financial instruments and institutions to promote synergies with all EU policies.
The EPP welcomed the three pillars of the strategy, namely better health for all, strengthening health systems by promoting universal health coverage, and praised the ‘One Health’ approach.
It said that the main challenges were overcoming socio-economic issues that impact on health, addressing the lack of health workers and building capacity to identify global health threats.
The S&D called for the addition of a “gender dimension” to take account of gender inequalities, pointing out that in some countries “women are penalised by unfavourable rules on abortion”.
Renew Europe welcomed the fact that health is seen “no longer as a cost, but as an investment”.
The EU Commissioner for Health, Stella Kyriakides, recalled that this strategy reflects “our Health Union” in foreign policy and is “an essential element of the Global Gateway”, the EU’s strategy of investing in third countries, notably through the GAVI fund - the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization - and the World Bank’s new pandemic fund, which she cited.
She stressed that this strategy is “our vision for a new global health order” that the EU is promoting “as a champion of multilateralism” and that this new order, with the WHO at its centre, should “have strong rules, such as the legally binding agreement on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response currently under negotiation”.
She also recalled that the EU is seeking a formal observer seat at the WHO. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)