Pan-European Commission on Health and Sustainable Development makes recommendations for 53 countries in the WHO European Region, with supporting evidence prepared by the Observatory
Despite repeated warnings of a global pandemic from the scientific community, the world was not prepared when SARS-CoV-2 first emerged in late 2019. The catastrophic impacts of COVID-19 mean it is vital that we learn from our mistakes for we cannot afford to make them again.
The conclusion is revealed by the report “Drawing light from the pandemic: A new strategy for health and sustainable development”, published today by the Pan-European Commission on Health and Sustainable Development. The European Observatory
on Health Systems and Policies was charged with preparing the extensive evidence review that underpinned the recommendations proposed by the Commission.
Supporting evidence-based policy-making
The Observatory has contributed in several ways to the newly published report. Chaired by Professor Mario Monti, a former Italian Prime Minister and European Commissioner, the Commission brought together leading experts from government, finance, and science.
Two of the Commissioners, both key members of the Observatory, played particularly important roles. Professor Elias Mossialos was the Scientific Coordinator and Professor Martin McKee chaired the Scientific Advisory Board, with the Observatory’s
Dr Josep Figueras and WHO’s Dr Natasha Azzopardi Muscat as co-chairs.
Dr Hans Kluge, Regional Director for WHO Europe, highlights the two-fold importance of this evidence review in the Foreword: “Firstly, it constitutes the scientific backbone to the Commission’s final recommendations, signposting the importance
of evidence-informed policy and design. Secondly, it reminds us all about the central role that science and scientific evidence plays in identifying the root-cause of societal issues and sustainable and adaptable policy solutions.”
Not letting a good crisis go to waste: from ‘One Health’ to ‘Leaving no one behind’
The evidence review begins by examining the lessons of the pandemic, highlighting the importance of political leadership, investment in health services and public health to protect the vulnerable. It then looks at the consequences of the pandemic, for
health, education, the economy, and society. A third chapter reminds us of the arguments for investing in health, drawing extensively on earlier work by the Observatory, for example, that supporting the two Tallinn conferences.
The review sets out a new conceptual framework for thinking about health, with One Health – the health of humans, animals, and the natural environment – at its heart. The evidence review points out many of the threats ahead, especially the
loss of biodiversity. Following from previous work by the Observatory on Health in All Policies, it also looks at the many things that we do collectively to strengthen or undermine health, starting with the prerequisites of health set out in the Ottawa
Charter, as well as digital access, access to justice, social capital, organised crime, cyber attacks, and corruption.
The remaining chapters look at the fractures in our societies that have left us so vulnerable to the pandemic, the things that we need to do to strengthen the resilience of health systems, and the evidence underpinning the other recommendations of the
main report.
The editor of the evidence review, Professor Martin McKee, reminded that “the publication of the Commission’s report and the evidence review represent only the end of the beginning of the process to make our world a safer and more secure place.”