Equity, climate change, ageing, resilience and determinants of health highlighted at the European Health Forum Gastein 2023
The European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, in collaboration with the European Commission, launched a public debate on the European Union (EU)’s health priorities during this year’s European Health Forum Gastein (EHFG) in Austria.
The aim of the debate is to inform the mission of the next Commissioner of health ahead of the European elections in 2024. It kicked off with a session organised by the Commission’s Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE) and the Observatory.
Sandra Gallina, who leads DG SANTE, said that society is experiencing a paradigm shift: “There was a time before and after COVID-19”.
While the needs of health and public health had been taken for granted, much was learned from the pandemic. The upcoming European elections should be an opportunity to leverage on those lessons, both to avoid going back and to retain the achievements.
Equity, climate change, ageing, resilience, and determinants of health
To frame the discussion and empower stakeholders and citizens engaging in the public debate, the Observatory prepared nine briefing papers on topical areas.
More than half of attendees voted that addressing challenges such as ageing or climate change should be the EU’s top priority. The second most voted priority was improving the performance and resilience of health systems, followed by addressing the determinants of health through health in all policies and health for all policies.
Josep Figueras, Director of the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies argued that climate change is, ultimately, the ability of DG SANTE to work with other directorate-generals within the European Commission to bring health into the climate debate. After all, the climate benefits from decarbonization of hospitals, the same way better climate reduces pressure on hospitals.
The convergence of digital, climate and other topics into health reflects the importance of Health for All Policies and the social determinants of health. Digital is and should remain intertwined with other priorities.
Other areas covered by the briefing papers include health security, health system transformation, the labour market for health and care workers, universal health coverage, and the EU’s global voice and leadership.
An inclusive voice, starting with the youth
The formal kick-off session was preceded by an informal brainstorming with Young Gasteiners – the group representing young professionals at EHFG. Welcoming the opportunity to involve young voices in the debate, Young Gasteiners’ proposals ranged from monitoring the needs of the health and care workforce to imposing EU taxes on superprofits to finance the health expenditure.
To the surprise of many, climate change received more attention and votes from the youth than digitalisation and artificial intelligence.
Caroline Costongs, Director at EuroHealthNet, called for equity in health and clarified that it is “not all about marginalized groups”. It is also about the “angry” movements and populism that need to be taken on board in the debate.
“The populist argument was the most persuasive argument to politicians,” agreed Martin McKee, who led the evidence review for the Monti Commission report. “People that are left behind are fertile for extreme populist movements.”
“It’s everyone’s duty to watch how funds are being used”
Sandra Gallina called on young people to believe “that we are putting the money where it needs to be”.
She added that while we wait to see where the next mandate takes us, “without funds we will not get out of the woods easily. We need to spend well” in order to create sustainable solutions.
The public debate will include a series of events to collect opinions from the audience about what the issues and priorities are, as well as where the EU can add value.
The session was a reminder of how the crises that society is facing have brought health to the forefront of the EU's political agenda – leading to significant changes in EU budgets, organizational missions, and overall setup for health-related matters.
Ultimately, the new public debate aims to keep health high on the agenda, leveraging on the potential of EU action in promoting solidarity, human rights, efficiency, and global influence through health policies.