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The European Public Health Association Newsletter - November 2020 |
1. EditorialWe are still in the midst of the second wave of COVID-19 in Europe and we really hope that the strict measures taken in so many European countries will halt the pandemic. The positive news is, of course, the promising COVID-19 vaccines and we hope they will be available to everybody as soon as possible. In the meantime, we will continue to strive for a healthy population in Europe and around the world from home. In this newsletter, we are updating you on numerous activities, actions and (digital) conferences to keep you up-to-date on public health. Wishing you pleasant reading, Iveta Nagyova, EUPHA president, and Dineke Zeegers Paget, EUPHA executive director |
2. EUPHA updateEUPHA statement on Deliberative collaboration between sectors is neededIn November 2020, EUPHA has provided input to the European Commission's call for feedback on the 3rd health programme. In its reaction, EUPHA appreciated the results achieved by the 3rd health programme and emphasised the continued importance of intersectoral collaboration for ensuring that everyone in Europe can achieve the highest possible level of health, now and in the future. This statement reflects on EUPHA's input highlighting the need to be deliberatively collaborative. https://eupha.org/repository/advocacy/St...E-collection on cancer prevention and screeningWe are pleased to announce that our new e-collection on cancer prevention and screening is now available on the EJPH webpage. This e-collection, developed by EUPHA-CHR and our German members, particularly focuses on risk factors for cancer, the use of cancer screening, and the role Europe should play in beating cancer. https://academic.oup.com/eurpub/Pages/ca...EUPHAnxt coordinator - 2020This month, we said goodbye to Pasquale Cacciatore, our EUPHAnxt coordinator. He has represented this network of the younger generation with great energy, both at the first online edition of the European Public Health Week and at the 16th World Congress on Public Health. Thank you Pasquale for your dedicated work, we wish you all the best in your future career! He hands over to Monica Brinzac, EUPHAnxt former Conference manager. Welcome Monica, we are very pleased to have you on board as the general EUPHAnxt coordinator.
https://eupha.org/euphanxt Urška Erklavec at the Annual Assembly of European Phamaceutical Students' AssociationUrška Erklavec, vice-president of the EUPHA Food and Nutrition section, organised a workshop on promoting a healthy lifestyle in children at the Annual Assembly of European Pharmaceutical Students’ Association on 5th November 2020. The workshop focused on commercial determinants of health, mostly on "Big Food" and their marketing strategies to sell more ultra-processed foods. Best practices from around the world on food labelling, taxation, marketing bans and on food environments in schools were showcased. The workshop finished with basic concepts of design thinking and good prevention. https://www.epsa-online.org/autumn-assem...Anna Odone appointed Full Professor of Public Health at the University of PaviaAnna Odone, president of EUPHA-DH, has been appointed Full Professor of Public Health at the University of Pavia. This makes her the youngest female professor in Italy. EUPHA congratulates her with this next step in her career and is very pleased that she continues her remarkable work for EUPHA. No dreams for a European Health Union without a triple WWW EU4Health ProgrammeAhead of the trilogue negotiation process, public interest civil society organisations of the EU4Health Civil Society Alliance including EUPHA, call on the national governments, European Parliament and the European Commission to make their best efforts during the upcoming, complex negotiations process, to ensure a well-resourced, well-designed and well-governed EU4Health Programme with meaningful involvement of civil society. https://eu4health.eu/no-dreams-for-a-eur... |
3. European Public Health Conference14th European Public Health Conference, 10 - 13 November 2021Next year’s European Public Health (EPH) Conference will be held from 10 to 13 November 2021. We sincerely hope to host an in-person conference in Dublin, Ireland. But as we are still living in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are also looking into options of organizing a virtual or hybrid conference. One thing we are sure of is that the conference will take place and as always you are welcome to the 14th EPH Conference. Check our website for any updates. Abstract submission
16th World Congress on Public Health - WCPH2020WCPH2020 Abstract supplement |
4. EUPHA members updateDutch Public Health Federation co-signs a call to increase the health literacy of Dutch citizensThe president and director of the Dutch Public Health Federation co-signed a letter to the Ministry of health on 11 November 2020. In this letter [in Dutch], a call to increase health literacy of Dutch citizens was made, emphasizing the positive effect a healthy lifestyle has on the immune system. https://www.federatievoorgezondheid.nl/m... The Faculty of public health, University of Pleven, Bulgaria: Jubilee conferenceThe Faculty of public health of the University of Pleven, Bulgaria, housing our Bulgarian member, has organised a Jubilee Scientific Conference on 26 November 2020. Dr Iveta Nagyova, our EUPHA president, opened this conference. Prof Gena Grancharova, president of the Bulgarian Public Health Association, was the vice-chair of the Conference. |
5. European Journal of Public HealthAdvance articles - November 2020Psychosocial health of adolescents in relation to underweight, overweight/obese status: the EU NET ADB survey |
6. Call for proposals, job opportunitiesPostdoc / Research Scientist Positions at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR)The Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) is seeking to appoint several full-time post-doctoral research scientists to join the Laboratory of Population Health, the Research Group on Labor Demography, or the Laboratory of Fertility and Well-Being. https://www.demogr.mpg.de/en/career_6122... |
7. Interesting newsSocial media can guide public pandemic policy, research findsScience Daily | 05 November 2020 EHFG 2020: Conference OutcomesThe European Health Forum Gastein took place a month ago, and today, the organisers are pleased to share with you a summary of the outcomes of the conference, in the form of an electronic book. https://www.ehfg.org/documents/EHFG2020/... EU4Health: MEPs pave the way for an effective EU health programmeCOVID-19 has shown that the EU urgently needs an ambitious programme to ensure that European health systems can face future health threats, so that the EU remains the healthiest region in the world, MEPs say. According to Parliament, this would not have been possible had the budget been reduced to €1.7 billion as proposed by member states. In the recent compromise on the EU’s long-term budget, MEPs convinced them to triple the budget for the programme (€5.1 billion). https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/p...[Interview] Covid-19: how is the EU doing on health?Pascal Canfin, chair of Parliament's environment and public health committee, talks about how the EU has managed the health aspects of the coronavirus crisis. Pharma companies must open their books on the funding agreements for covid-19 vaccinesThe BMJ | Opinion The Thousand and One Natural Shocks of COVID-19Though we remain very much in the midst of the pandemic—with projections of a rough winter to come—it’s important to think about what comes after COVID-19. Specifically, how can decision-makers support programs to help people move past this once-in-a-lifetime disruptive event? And how have mental health services and barriers to care changed as a result of COVID-19? Is there anything to learn from the adjustments forced upon us by the pandemic? https://www.thinkglobalhealth.org/articl...Four reasons why we need multiple vaccines for Covid-19Having a range of Covid-19 vaccines available for people to use around the world will be essential to bringing the pandemic under control. Here’s why. https://wellcome.org/news/four-reasons-w... The Global Launch of the 2020 Lancet Countdown ReportThe links between health and climate change are undeniable. 120 world-leading experts, including authors from 38 academic institutions and UN agencies spanning every continent have looked at more than 40 indicators for the 2020 Report of the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change. The Academic Response to COVID-19COVID-19 has posed an unprecedented challenge to the international scientific community. Along with the disruption faced by most of the world's population, many researchers have felt an added pressure to understand, cure and mitigate the virus. In order to gain insight into what impact COVID-19 has had on the international scientific community, their work and the implications for science, the authors conducted a survey with editors, reviewers and authors in May and June 2020. In one of the largest academic surveys ever conducted, 25,307 members of the academic community participated, representing diverse countries, roles, and areas of research. Air quality in Europe - 2020 reportEEA Report No 11/2020
The Air quality in Europe report, published by the European Environment Agency, provides an annual assessment of the status and impacts of air quality and recent air quality trends. The report supports policy development and implementation in the field of air quality at both European and national levels.
ENSP-ECTC webinarsDuring the months of November and December ENSP is organising a series of ECTC webinars which are the online symposia on various topics including the tobacco industry tactics, novel products epidemic, smoking cessation, and illicit tobacco trade. The Spanish manifesto on heated tobacco products and e-cigarettesThe National Committee for the Prevention of Smoking (CNPT) and the General Council of Official Associations of Physicians (CGCOM) have presented the ‘Manifesto on novel tobacco products’, a text prepared by 167 experts that warns about the practices of the tobacco industry to promote heated tobacco and e-cigarette products as alternatives to conventional tobacco. http://ensp.network/the-spanish-manifest... Alexandra Freeman: The strange world of risk perception, and communicating risksRisks are subjective. Our job as communicators is only to try to show them the risk as clearly as possible and under many different lights (contexts/ways of looking at it) so that they can see it objectively clearly and that their subjective perception is as little skewed as possible by the way we have shown it to them. |
8. Upcoming courses and conferences
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9. Interesting publicationsBuilding resilient societies after COVID-19: the case for investing in maternal, neonatal, and child healthThe Lancet | Viewpoint | November 2020 UN Research Roadmap for the COVID-19 Recovery - Leveraging the Power of Science for a More Equitable, Resilient and Sustainable FutureThis Roadmap aims to:
Ageing Europe -- Looking at the lives of older people in the EU -- 2020 editionEurostats | 5 November 2020 The democratic, political, and scientific failures of covid-19The BMJ | 5 November 2020 | Editor's choice Enhancing the use of stakeholder analysis for policy implementation research: towards a novel framing and operationalised measuresThe BMJ Global Health | Original Research | 6 November 2020 Lessons learnt from easing COVID-19 restrictions: an analysis of countries and regions in Asia Pacific and EuropeThe Lancet | Health Policy | November 2020 First human efficacy study of a plant-derived influenza vaccineThe Lancet | Commentary | November 2020 The Lancet Commission on diabetes: using data to transform diabetes care and patient livesThe Lancet Commission | 13 November 2020 Covid-19: politicisation, "corruption," and suppression of scienceThe BMJ | Editorial Changes in prolonged sedentary behaviour across the transition to retirementThe BMJ | Occupational & Environmental Medicine | 17 November 2020 Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index 2020The Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index (Global Tobacco Index) is a review of how governments are responding to influences from the tobacco industry and protecting their public health policies from commercial interests as required under the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC). Mitigating the global health threat of violent conflict: a preventive frameworkThe BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health Exploring the Twitter activity around the eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco ControlThe BMJ Tobacco Control | 11 November 2020 |
10. European Commission newsCoronavirus: €128 million granted on research to address pressing needs and the socio-economic impact of the pandemicThe Commission is supporting 23 new research projects with a total of €128 million to address the continuing coronavirus pandemic and its effects.
The 23 projects involve 344 research teams from 39 countries, including 32 participants from 15 countries outside of the EU. The funding will enable researchers to strengthen and adapt industrial capacity to manufacture and deploy equipment such as ventilators, to prevent and treat coronavirus, to develop medical technologies and digital tools such as portable diagnostic system, to better understand the societal impacts of the pandemic, for example on vulnerable and marginalised groups, and to learn from large groups of patients (cohorts) across Europe in order to improve treatment. https://ec.europa.eu/info/news/coronavir...Coronavirus: Commission steps up actions on testing with a recommendation on rapid antigen tests and support to increase testing capacityThe European Commission adopted a recommendation on the use of rapid antigen tests for the diagnosis of COVID-19. The recommendation provides guidance on how to select rapid antigen tests, when they are appropriate and who should perform them. It also calls for validation and mutual recognition of tests and their results. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscor...A European Health Union: Tackling health crises together - The role of EU agenciesA factsheet on the futur mandates of both the ECDC and EMA, and the role of a new EU health emergency preparedness and response authority. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscor...Building a European Health Union: Stronger crisis preparedness and response for EuropeThe Commission is putting forward a set of proposals to strengthen the EU's health security framework, and to reinforce the crisis preparedness and response role of key EU agencies. In order to step up the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and future health emergencies, more coordination at EU level is needed. Drawing lessons from the current crisis, today's proposals will ensure stronger preparedness and response during the current and future health crises. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscor...Coronavirus: Commission approves contract with BioNTech-Pfizer alliance to ensure access to a potential vaccineToday [11 November 2020], the European Commission approved a fourth contract with pharmaceutical companies BioNTech and Pfizer, which provides for the initial purchase of 200 million doses on behalf of all EU Member States, plus an option to request up to a further 100 million doses, to be supplied once a vaccine has proven to be safe and effective against COVID-19. Member States can decide to donate the vaccine to lower and middle-income countries or to re-direct it to other European countries. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscor...Health at a Glance: EuropeToday [19 November 2020], the European Commission and the OECD are launching their joint publication ‘Health at a Glance: Europe 2020’, kicking off the third round of the State of Health in the EU cycle. |
11. European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control newsEurosurveillance - Volume 25, Issue 44, 05 November 2020Editorial Eurosurveillance - Volume 25, Issue 45, 12 November 2020Editorial Eurosurveillance - Volume 25, Issue 46, 19 November 2020Editorial Eurosurveillance - Volume 25, Issue 47, 26 November 2020Rapid communication ECDC Management Board Chair and Deputy Chair re-electedOn 25 November 2020, the ECDC Management Board re-elected Dr Anni Virolainen Julkunen as Chair and Ms Zofija Mazej Kukovič as Deputy Chair. https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/news-event... |
12. WHO newsWHO Director-General calls on world to 'choose health' at resumed 73rd World Health Assembly in the Year of the Nurse and the MidwifeDr Tedros warned that “a vaccine cannot address the global under-investment in essential public health functions and resilient health systems, nor the urgent need for a “One Health” approach that encompasses the health of humans, animals and the planet we share. There is no vaccine for poverty, hunger, climate change or inequality.” https://www.who.int/news/item/09-11-2020...The health emergencies you didn't hear about in 2020Read about the WHO challenges and successes all across the world during a year marked by a global pandemic on its Medium channel. https://who.medium.com/the-health-emerge...Readiness for influenza during the COVID-19 pandemicWHO | Publication | 6 November 2020 New WHO dashboard quantifies and visualizes European countries' COVID-19 measuresWHO/Europe has just launched its Public Health and Social Measures (PHSM) Severity Index to provide standardized data on the ways in which countries in the WHO European Region have sought to slow or stop community spread of COVID-19. This latest tool systematically captures and analyses individual governmental PHSM responses to COVID-19 in the 53 countries of the Region. https://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topic...Statement to the resumed 73rd World Health Assembly by the Chair of the Review Committee on the Functioning of the International Health Regulations (2005) during the COVID-19 ResponseStatement delivered during the first session of Committee A of the resumed 73rd World Health Assembly, on 9 November 2020 https://www.who.int/news/item/09-11-2020...73rd World Health Assembly set to strengthen preparedness for health emergenciesIn a year that has seen more than 1.2 million lives lost to a deadly coronavirus pandemic, WHO’s 194 Member States are expected to adopt a resolution to strengthen preparedness for health emergencies EB146.R10, at the resumed 73rd World Health Assembly. New WHO/Europe factsheet: policy action needed to reduce cancers attributable to alcohol useThe new WHO/Europe factsheet, “Alcohol and cancer in the WHO European Region: an appeal for better prevention”, emphasizes causal links between alcohol use and a range of cancers, including some of the most common types, such as female breast cancer and colorectal cancer. It also makes clear that alcohol-attributable cancers and deaths can be reduced through implementation of cost-effective policies, such as increasing taxes on alcoholic beverages and restricting marketing and availability of alcohol. https://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topic...Romania and the Republic of Moldova stand together to tackle COVID-19The cooperation which already existed between the health authorities and health systems of the two countries intensified as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. In early spring, with WHO assistance, Romania sent medical supplies and equipment to support the medical system of its neighbour. Health system responses to COVID-19Many countries across the European region and beyond have faced another steep surge in transmissions and a continued challenge from COVID-19. This special issue of Eurohealth reviews some of the innovative practices across the European region and outlines policy lessons for the future. https://www.euro.who.int/en/about-us/par...Outstanding public health achievements from the WHO European Region receive the highest recognition at the resumed 73rd World Health AssemblyAt the resumed Seventy-third World Health Assembly, 2 individuals and 1 organization from the WHO European Region were awarded prestigious global public health prizes for their significant contribution to population health. Albania needs to expand population coverage to move towards universal health coverageNew WHO analysis finds that out-of-pocket payments for health are a major source of financial hardship for people in Albania. Around 8% of households are pushed into poverty or further impoverished after paying out of pocket and 12% experience catastrophic health spending. The financial hardship caused by out-of-pocket payments is heavily concentrated among poorer parts of the population and is increasingly driven by household spending on outpatient medicines. https://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topic...Preventing the COVID-19 pandemic from causing an antibiotic resistance catastropheAccording to research conducted by WHO/Europe and reports from the field, the European Region now risks accelerated spread of antimicrobial resistance. The long-term problem of antibiotics being used inappropriately by individuals and in health care settings is worsening as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. https://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topic...Coming together to identify health-workforce needs in small countriesThe WHO Small Countries Initiative has released 2 sets of micro case studies, illustrating the experiences of 11 small countries and 1 region in strengthening their health workforces in the areas of postgraduate training and monitoring and managing health workforce mobility. |
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This newsletter received co-funding under an operating grant from the European Union’s Health Programme (2014-2020). The content of this newsletter represents the views of the author(s) only and is his/her sole responsibility; it cannot be considered to reflect the views of the European Commission and/or the Consumers, Health, Agriculture and Food Executive Agency or any other body of the European Union. The European Commission and the Agency do not accept any responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains. |
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