The European well-being deal
Take action by circulating widely this recently launched manifesto that includes some great potential recommendations on digital empowerment and health prevention.
All Policies for a Healthy Europe launched its latest activities on 12 October 2023, a new and revised manifesto entitled “A European Health and Well-being Deal”.
The All Policies for a Healthy Europe (AP4HE) initiative is totally committed to improving European citizens’ well-being. It covers a wide variety of sectors relevant to this appeal. Read its four-page summary of the manifesto here.
EHTEL is one of the initiative’s knowledge partners . Alongside 20+ other signatories, it fully supports the initiative’s manifesto.
Overall, the deal wants well-being in Europe to be more than a buzzword.
What is the AP4HE initiative?
The AP4HE’s initiative’s ambition is to lobby for placing a high priority on health and well-being policy in both the next European Parliament and the next European Commission. It does so mainly through its manifesto. More activities will clearly materialise after Europe’s June 2024 parliamentary election. Current members of the European Parliament have been invited to endorse the manifesto. More than 10 have already done so.
The AP4HE initiative is chaired by Mr Vytenis Andriukaitis, the World Health Organization (WHO) Special Envoy for the European Region and former European Commission Health and Food Safety Commissioner. Financed by three companies - J&J, Vodaphone, and the Suez Group - the coalition gathers under one umbrella more then 20 non-governmental organisations (NGOs). The diverse NGOs cover many different sectors. They represent topics like digital health, med tech, the environment, and citizens and patients.
What does the manifesto say?
At the core of AP4HE’s plea for action for a European well-being deal is an appeal for a strategic pivot towards health and well-being in Europe.
The deal concentrates on a practical call to action. Hence, it appeals for measured change through a set of structural reforms in the European Union. It asks for several thrusts in terms of the European institutions:
- A Vice-President for One Health in the European Commission.
- A Health in all Policies Task Force in the European Commission that will work with different parts of the Commission to ensure the wide take-up of well-being and health.
- Three distinct committees, task forces, and groups in the European Parliament.
- Training programmes for policymakers, civil servants, and stakeholders to cover health in all policies.
The manifesto makes two main recommendations. The two focus on the present and the future:
- Unlocking the importance of well-being and healthy lifestyles for citizens every day.
- Well-being and ‘health-proofing’ citizens’ future by building resilience and forward-looking societies.
In the manifesto, around a further 20 sub-recommendations follow. First, they range widely over lifestyles, food policy, living environments, and digital empowerment. Second, they cover prevention, the measurement of success, and building safe and resilient societies. EHTEL has contributed in-depth to two domains among these recommendations: digital empowerment and prevention.
Why is EHTEL part of the AP4HE initiative?
EHTEL has a deep commitment to many of the aspects of the initiative, especially those around digital empowerment and prevention. The association has been fully supported in this commitment by its Board.
EHTEL believes strongly in contributing to multi-stakeholder policy initiatives devoted to the digital transformation of health and care systems across Europe. AP4HE is a particularly important initiative in this regard.
What can you do? Your own call for action
Check out whether you agree with the recommendations included in this initiative’s manifesto. Then, support the recommendations by circulating the manifesto widely in your region or country or network.
If you need more information to make your decision, more detail is available here, here and in EHTEL’s Resources⤵️
- Want to hear more about the European Health Union and future European health policies? On 29 November 2023, EHTEL's 2023 Symposium will close with a fascinating keynote speech. The talk will be given by Mr. Vytenis Andriukaitis, the World Health Organization (WHO) Special Envoy for the European Region and former European Commission Health and Food Safety Commissioner. The talk will also create a solid bridge to the i~HD two-day conference on Building Trust in Health Data.
Meanwhile, for your reading interest:
- Consult the All Policies for a Healthy Europe deal.
- Delve into the newly launched book, "A European Health Union: A Blueprint for Generations", co-edited by Mr Andriukaitis and Gediminas Cerniauskas.
