ENSP is an international non-profit association, created in 1997 under Belgium law (ID 16377/97), which aims to reduce tobacco consumption and develop a common strategy amongst organisations active in smoking prevention and tobacco control throughout Europe, by sharing information and experience, through coordinated activities and projects, by creating synergies among public health advocates thus increasing their capacity to direct their actions more effectively. ENSP acts as the lynchpin for members creating a central, cohesive force for the European tobacco control movement.

Our vision is a future where our fellow Europeans will not suffer ill health and early death caused by tobacco. We want children to be able to grow up without being targeted with messages that seek to lure them into a lifetime of addiction. We want all Europeans to be able to breathe clean air unpolluted by tobacco smoke. We aim to make our continent completely smoke-free by 2040.

As we communicate more freely and cross country borders more frequently, we are aware that our countries do not stand alone: tobacco control is at different stages in all European countries, so ENSP undertakes to use the most effective evidence in policy and practice to work together towards a common goal. Members can use past experience in other countries and adapt such experience to their needs by joining the ENSP network. ENSP members collaborate to agree on a common policy and speak in one voice, thus strengthening the European tobacco control effort and reinforcing European public health messages.

To eliminate the use of tobacco products, ENSP believes that all European countries need to implement comprehensive tobacco control strategies, including high taxes, comprehensive bans on direct and indirect advertising of tobacco, smoking bans in public and workplaces (including the hospitality sector), introduce strong text and pictorial warnings on tobacco packages and move towards standardised packaging.

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EPHA is a change agent - Europe`s leading NGO advocating for better health. Our mission is to bring together the public health community to provide thought leadership and facilitate change; to build public health capacity to deliver equitable solutions to European public health challenges, to improve health and reduce health inequalities.

Our vision is of a Europe with universal good health and well-being, where all those living within our borders have access to a sustainable and high quality health system: A Europe whose policies and practices contribute to health, both within and beyond its borders.

Our values are: Equity, Solidarity, Sustainability, Universality, Diversity, Good Governance

EPHA`s work within the political and economic environment of the European Union is unique - bringing the voice of public health and the public interest into the policy-making arena, contributing to the delivery of the Health Strategy and advocating for citizens` health across policy areas in the Commission adds value to the institutional agenda and facilitates the decision-making process.
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Our mission is to improve the lives of porphyria patients by improving the diagnosis and treatment of these rare conditions. EPNET has been funded by the EU Commission (DG SANCO, PHEA programme)since 2007. The objective is to establish an effective network of specialist porphyria centres throughout the EU. Currently, EPNET consists of 28 EU specialist centres from 17 European countries that work together to develop an up-to-date approach to the management of patients and families with porphyria that conforms to uniform standards. We also have members from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the USA.
Evidence from the last years shows that this network and its activities have a positive effect on the quality of diagnosis, number of patients diagnosed and treatment choices (shown through the collection of data, enquiries to the drug database and external quality scheme). However, porphyria centres and/or clinical experts are still not present in all EU countries; therefore the care is not equal in all member states. An objective for 2012 will be to work with national plans, the laboratory network and the cross boundary directive to find a method to reach out to patients in countries currently outside EPNET e.g. Bulgaria, Greece, Portugal, Croatia and others.
EPNET focuses on: provision of information to patients (in their own languages) and healthcare professionals (HCPs); use of external quality assessment to develop quality standards for diagnosis and clinical advice; a web-based registry to collect data about the porphyrias to inform clinical practice and healthcare planning; dissemination of information on safety of drugs. Progress is communicated to partners through regular meetings and reports. Information on the porphyrias and drug selection is made available to patients, public health authorities and HCP`s at www.porphyria-europe.org; www.drugs-porphyria.org.
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Founded in 1966, ASPHER is the key independent organisation in Europe dedicated to strengthening the role of Public Health (PH) by improving the education and training of PH professionals for practice and research. It represents the scientific and academic components of the PH workforce education and advanced training.

ASPHER members are collectively committed to PH capacity building. Whilst respecting the European diversity of national and regional contexts in which each school of PH operates, ASPHER promotes structured processes of sharing evidence-based PH, models of innovation and good practice, and mobilizing schools of PH (SPHs) to be pro-active in shaping the PH core competencies.

ASPHER`s strategic vision includes the promotion of the highest standards of education and training for practice increasingly involving cross-sectional intervention and global as much as EU wide and national issues. A key role of advocacy and communication to promote and incorporate European values into the wider PH movement is also assumed by ASPHER.

ASPHER mission and vision correspond to the findings of the ASPHER 2015 project (2009), and they are also reflected in the 10 Theses on the future work of ASPHER as proposed by its incoming President-Prof.Helmut Brand:

1.Secure the future of SPHs in times of economic crisis.
2.Help the Health Systems in the European Region to integrate an educated PH workforce.
3.Cooperate with international organisations like EU and WHO in capacity building of the PH workforce.
4.Cooperate with the European PH Association in the development and advocacy of European PH.
5.Expand the educational basis of SPHs to Lifelong Learning.
6.Expand the organisational basis of ASPHER by integrating new SPHs.
7.Support the seven ASPHER working groups to secure ongoing developments.
8.Build and secure a high standard in PH Education through exchange of best practice examples, integration of new educational methods and accreditation.
9.Promote research in SPHs through collaborative projects and networks.
10.Develop Alumni Networks of SPHs to Social Networks.
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EuroWilsoN`s (EW) mission is to improve quality of care and access to multi-disciplinary expertise for EU patients with Wilson`s disease (WD). EW was founded in 2004 through the FP6 programme(EW (LSHM CT2004 503430), and is currently funded by the European Commission Directorate General for Health and Consumers operating grant 2010. It has achieved:

- A European multidisciplinary network for sharing expertise in patient management. A multidisciplinary approach is particularly necessary in WD which has variable clinical manifestations
- A network composed of all stakeholders concerned by WD: clinicians, research scientists, patients, patient organisations, regulatory authorities and industry
- A WD patient registry collecting longitudinal data
- External molecular quality network
- Contribution to the development of recent guidelines
- A structure for patient groups to network and share experience

EW`s goals include maintaining and enhancing this network; the French centre of expertise for WD serves as a network model. The network includes all stakeholders involved in patient care: medical, scientific para-medical, EU authorities and patients` associations. EW will:

- Promote exchange between participants
- Provide up-to-date disease information on its website (eurowilson.org) and Orphanet
- Develop and publish evidence based clinical guidelines
- Develop telemedicine within the network
- Enhance the registry to provide epidemiological data, outcome indicators, country comparisons and to facilitate collaborative research and public health projects
- Support patients and patient associations in the EU
- continue to serve as a research and knowledge centre for WD

Members of Eurowilson are actively participating in European and international activities with the aim to transfer knowledge from this network to other networks, patient regsitries and to national authorities and policy makers. We serve the European Committee of Experts in Rare Disease (EUCERD) and the International Rare Disease Research Consortium (IRDiRC).
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