WHO’s European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies moderated and took part in a number of panels at this year’s European Health Forum Gastein (EHFG), which ran its first-ever virtual conference 28 September – 2 October 2020 on the theme ‘Dancing with elephants: new partnerships for health, democracy, business’.
While many ‘elephants’ were identified during 3 days of conversation and debate, it was the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic which dominated discussions. The conference covered a wide range of public health topics, from access to medicines to cancer care, and from digital health to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and inequalities. The overall theme which emerged, however, was a growing call for better governance and health system resilience to manage crises.
Resilient health systems
Observatory Research Fellow, Anna Sagan, presented on health system resilience: what it is, its relation to governance, and how to prepare for shock events. Policy-makers from Austria, Sweden and Germany spoke about their personal and country experiences in responding to the pandemic, touching on challenges such as workforce shortages, the infodemic and maintaining public trust. Panelists highlighted some positive responses to the pandemic, too, including rediscovering public health systems and the renewed focus on core system values.
The first plenary session, ‘Recovering from the pandemic’, with WHO/Europe’s Regional Director, Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, considered ideas around a well-being economy – an economic system that puts health and well-being at the heart of policy. Other panelists stressed that countries seeking to ‘build back better’ would require enormous political will and courage in the face of a recession which threatens to deepen inequalities. While the pandemic highlighted various systemic weaknesses, including in public health, it was suggested that sharing country experiences could be a useful starting point for building system resilience.
A discussion on access to novel medicines, moderated by Observatory Programme Manager, Dimitra Panteli, showed again how systems could benefit from greater collaboration and partnership through leveraging joint purchasing power and implementing transparency standards on drug development costs.
The Advisor's Dilemma
A call for greater scientific and data infrastructure was one response to the ‘The Advisor’s Dilemma’, a session hosted by Observatory Director, Josep Figueras, which explored the challenge for policy-makers of acting in the absence of concrete evidence and the related challenge of communicating uncertainty.
The theme of governance was picked up again in the discussion ‘Health democracy in action’, moderated by Observatory Senior Health Policy Analyst, Matthias Wismar, which included the need to build on existing mechanisms, such as citizen assemblies, to ensure the voice of people and communities are included in decision-making, particularly during a crisis.
While panelists in various sessions expressed disappointment at the lack of coordination in the EU’s early COVID-19 response and, in some countries, the tendency towards exaggerated nationalism, it was felt that COVID-19 could be a wake-up call to help ensure ‘the fire engine’ is ready next time for whenever it is needed.
Josep Figueras co-hosted the final plenary discussion on the merits of a European Health Union to facilitate a better coordinated response to the crises.
The European Observatory’s involvement in the annual European Health Forum Gastein is an important part of our knowledge brokering activities, presenting evidence and listening to the voices of policy-makers, researchers, NGOs, health care professionals, students and industry.