The effects of health inequalities within and between EU MS are widely recognized,and reducing health inequalities is on the agenda of many MS. Moreover new challenges like the huge migration flows and the economic crisis and austerity policies that affect EU citizen’s everyday life are worsening the scenario. Despite an increasing concern and awareness on health inequalities, a wide gap exists in Europe in terms of political response.
The Joint Action Health Equity Europe will represent an important opportunity for MS to work jointly to address health inequalities and underlying social determinants of health.
The general objective of the project is to improve health and well-being of the EU citizens and achieve greater equity in health outcomes across all groups in society by a focus on socio-economic determinants of health and lifestyle related health inequalities. A particular priority will be given to migrants, since poor health and lack of access to health services can be an obstacle to integration.
This Joint Action aims to: deliver a policy framework with a menu of actions and recommendations for national, regional and local uptake and implementation; develop better policies improve monitoring, governance, implementation and evaluation; implement good practices and facilitate exchange and learning; identify factors of success, barriers and challenges and how to overcome them.
The Joint Action will contribute meeting two objectives of the Third health Program by introducing the equity lens in “Objective1: Promoting health, preventing diseases and fostering supportive environments for healthy lifestyles taking into account the ‘health in all policies” and in “Objective4: Facilitating access to better and safer healthcare for Union citizens”.
This Joint Action will follow a three-step approach that will facilitate: identification of policy options to tackle health inequalities; implementation of feasible and effective actions in all MS involved; elaboration and dissemination of further recommendations and guidelines.
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In all EU Member states (MS), the high level of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents is of particular concern. In the EU, around 1 in 3 children 6-9 years old were overweight or obese in 2010, a sharp rise in prevalence despite numerous MS or EU initiatives.Physical inactivity and poor diet from birth (and even in utero) are important determinants of adiposity leading to overweight and obesity. They are also independently associated with various non-communicable disease risk factors leading to the main pathologies European populations are suffering from, including detrimental psychosocial outcomes. Overweight and obesity represent an economic burden with up to 7% of EU health budgets spent each year directly on diseases linked to obesity, with more indirect costs resulting from lost productivity. Nutritional problems and physical inactivity need to be addressed in an integrated way so as to promote healthier environments, to make the healthy option the easiest option and to inform and empower families.Within the general frame of the EU Action plan on childhood obesity 2014-2020, the JA’s general objective is to contribute to halting the rise in overweight and obesity in children and adolescents by 2020. Through the, identification, selection and sharing of best data and practices within the 25 countries involved, the JA will allow for : to advocate based on an estimation and forecast of economic cost of overweight and obesity; to improve the implementation of integrated interventions to promote nutrition and physical activity for pregnant women, families with young children; to improve actions within school settings; and to increase the use of nutritional information on foods by public health authorities, stakeholders and families for nutrition policy purposes. The JA will reinforce the links between national nutrition and physical activity policies initiated by the EU Strategy on nutrition, overweight and obesity-related health issues.
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The “Joint Action on integrating prevention, testing and link to care strategies across HIV, Viral Hepatitis, TB & STIs in Europe” (INTEGRATE) has the overall objective to increase Integrated early diagnosis and linkage to prevention and care of HIV, viral hepatitis, TB and STIs in EU Member States by 2020.
A number of tools have been developed to reduce transmission, optimize early diagnosis and linkage to care for one or more of these four diseases. INTEGRATE will map relevant existing tools for cross-linking. A peer-review process will identify which of these tools are complimentary or redundant for other disease(s), and which could be adapted or require further innovation.
HIV, viral hepatitis, TB and STIs are cross-borders public health threats of concern to Europe that affect vulnerable populations disproportionately and require personalised interventions. As multiple dimensional approaches are required to reduce the public health burden, the most optimal profile of approaches that provide additive effects (and that are reasonably cost-effective) should be identified and implemented broadly.
INTEGRATE provides a platform to disseminate and exchange best practice among Member States and facilitate discussions on innovations and emerging issues within the four diseases. In this respect, INTEGRATE is a shared European effort that extends beyond the partners and can create important synergies across European stakeholders, projects and initiatives.
INTEGRATE supports the implementation of the Commission Communication on ‘Combating HIV/AIDS in the European Union and neighboring countries’ and the ‘Action Plan on HIV/AIDS in the EU and neighboring countries’ by ensuring better preparedness across the EU and by identifying innovative evidence-based testing and prevention tools to reduce new cases of HIV, viral hepatitis, TB and STIs in priority groups.
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The Joint Action proposal on “HIV and Co-infection Prevention and Harm Reduction” (HA-REACT) addresses existing gaps in the prevention of HIV and other co-infections (especially tuberculosis and hepatitis) in priority areas of the EU. Despite huge advances in treatment and care and successful implementation of evidence-based preventive interventions in many EU member states, these infections are still not controlled among certain population groups and regions. The HA-REACT Joint action (JA) directly addresses the Communication from the Commission [COM(2009)569] on “Combating HIV/AIDS in the European Union and neighbouring countries, 2009 -2013” and relevant actions laid out in the associated [SWD(2014)106] action plan extension 2014-2016. The project takes a practical rather than a theoretical or purely guiding approach. It will implement concerted, multi-country, and multi-actor actions, strengthening evidence-based practices in the focus countries, where the situation and needs are particularly challenging. Focused action for greater impact is the leading principle of this proposal. The HA-REACT will focus on pragmatic actions targeting the most vulnerable populations, i.e. people who inject drugs (PWID). The focus countries for the JA were selected according to an objective and transparent selection criteria, developed by the ECDC and the EMCDDA in which the countries were ranked according to their epidemic situation and coverage of preventive measures. In addition to work packages of Coordination, Dissemination and Evaluation, HA-REACT actions are organized into five core work packages: Testing and linkage to care, Scaling up harm reduction, Harm reduction and continuity of care in prisons, Integrated care, Sustainability and long-term funding.
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