Horizon 2020 - promoting better health outcomes through coordination, open access and civil society involvement - European Public Health Alliance

Use the link to access more information about the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA). The website offers the following statements: “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 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.” The EPHA position on Horizon 2020 reads as follows: “In a different approach to Innovation, EPHA argues for a broad definition of innovation in Horizon 2020 and for innovation to be guided by criteria of public interest. DG Research and innovation highlight the importance of chronic diseases to the EU, yet no reference is made to the third largest chronic disease group -respiratory disease. EPHA proposes that the health theme in Horizon 2020 be used to promote evidenced based policy making and in this way can complment the health for growth programme that implements health policy in the EU. EPHA also highlights the lack of coordinate on of research across all disciplines and between health stakeholders, which has led to duplication and fragmentation of research efforts, gaps in the health research continuum, and significant limitations on Europe’s overall progress to innovate. EU research & innovation funding should be used to advance public sector interests such as public health. Another point advocated by EPHA is greater NGO involvement. This is necessary for better scientific outcomes and ensure research meets real needs. Greater involvement of CSOs in Horizons 2020 will ensure that real needs and problems are addressed and the developed solutions will increase in acceptability when entering the market. EPHA encourages the EU to facilitate the sustainability of research projects, so that after the research has been conducted, it can effectively be applied to policy-making and continue to make an impact. EPHA encourages EU decision makers to earmark funding for research that explores de-linkage models that dissociate the medicines prices from the cost of R&D, as outlined in recent EU commitments in the Council Conclusions on Global Health, and the Innovation Union. Promoting open access to research results will promote better health outcomes.”