The strategic objectives of this project include a regular monitoring of the web in respect of novel recreational drugs and prompt implementation of a technical database on novel recreational psychoactive compounds/combinations, with the resulting data being made available to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction’s (EMCDDA) early warning system for possible dissemination to selected health professionals and health agencies.
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The objective is to promote action on the prevention of rare diseases (RD) and to provide analysis and technical assistance in support of the development or implementation of a policy in the area of rare diseases and orphan drugs (OD).
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EURORDIS is a patient-driven alliance of Patient Organisations (POs) and individuals active in the field of rare diseases (RD). It represents the voice of an estimated 29 million citizens in the EU.

EURORDIS mission is to build a strong pan-European community of POs and People Living With RD (PLWRD), to be their voice at the European level and to fight against the impact of RD on their lives.

To this end, EURORDIS undertakes activities on behalf of its members, notably in favour of:

• Empowering RD patient groups
• Advocating RD as a public health priority
• Raising public awareness on RD (national and international levels)
• Improving access to information, treatment, care and support for PLWRD, including support to families
• Improving quality of life
• Encouraging good practices in relation to these issues
• Promoting scientific and clinical research on RD
• Developing treatments and drugs for people with RD

EURORDIS plays a pivotal role in the definition and implementation of the EU strategy on RD (EC Communication, Dec.2008 and Council Recommendations, June 2009).
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General objective:

This Joint Action will support the national activities needed to build the capacity for organizing Health Examination Surveys (HES) in 14 countries. The Partners will work in collaboration with the European Health Examination Survey Reference Centre (EHES RC) funded by a separate Tender. The aim is to plan and prepare for a full-scale HES in the 14 countries, and to pilot the fieldwork, data collection, assessment and reporting. The full-size HESs will provide comparable information on major chronic disease risk factors and disease prevalence.

Specific objectives:

1. To prepare national HES plans for the Partners of the Joint Action.
2. To prepare detailed sampling description for the piloting countries.
3. To complete the national HES pilot field work.
4. To transfer pilot survey data from Partner countries to the EHES RC and assessment of the data.
5. To share the national experience among the Partners.
6. To plan the reporting of the national results of the full-size HES, and report the results of the national pilot HES.

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Measures of mortality are among the most important indicators for public health. All European Union member states collect all-cause mortality data in order to facilitate planning, monitoring annual trends of diseases and evaluating public health interventions. However, there is little tradition of conducting timely monitoring of mortality. This lack of timely collection, analysis and interpretation is a limitation when it comes to the assessment of the health impact of events that may lead to sudden changes in mortality such as major epidemics, extreme temperatures as well as deliberate or accidental release of biological or chemical agents.
In the DG Sanco supported project EuroMOMO we developed a coordinated approach to real-time mortality monitoring across Europe. This system is ready to apply among countries that are able to meet the minimal requirements for mortality monitoring. Currently, the weekly output (the mortality bulletin at www.euromomo.eu) is based on data submitted from 15 countries.
The EuroMOMO network demonstrated how a timely, standardised and coordinated approach to mortality monitoring increases the European capacity to assess the impact of events with a potential impact on public health, including the 2009/10 influenza A(H1N1) pandemic. Without EuroMOMO, Europe would have been less well prepared for the pandemic
In addition, EuroMOMO was pivotal to facilitate country-specific in-depth analyses of influenza-associated mortality in general or the impact of the pandemic more specifically.
Our mission is to reinforce the EU`s preparedness to respond to potential risk by a continued operation of the EuroMOMO network. The vision is further to extent the collaboration by adding new countries to the network. By training activites, partners will learn and exchange best practice on how to apply data from real-time mortality monitoring for risk assessment, in particular as regards cross-border threats and the management of the public health response to emergencies.
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