Mechelen, 23rd April – Together with Enabel, the Belgian Development Agency, and Be-cause health, the Belgian Platform for Global Health, the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU is organising today an expert conference on ‘Health Equity and Health System Strengthening.’ After a successful Team Europe ministerial mission in Addis Ababa and a high-level ministerial event on the EU-AU partnership in Brussels, both on Global Health, this third event is dedicated to bolstering health systems and achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC), focusing on the crucial roles of health financing, social participation and civil society.
With the aim of keeping health high on the European development agenda, this expert conference brings together more than 250 policymakers, academics and civil society representatives from Europe and Africa. Benefitting from the insights and expertise of high-profile keynote speakers leading the way in global health, the conference welcomes the outcomes of the high-level ministerial on Global Health of last 20th March in Brussels. It will also provide recommendations on the implementation of the European Global Health Strategy and will end with a call to action (available below the press release) addressed to the EU and its Member States from Civil Society to reaffirm the right to Health for All based on principles of equity and inclusivity within EU health policies.
With the aim of keeping health high on the European development agenda, this expert conference brings together more than 250 policymakers, academics and civil society representatives from Europe and Africa. Benefitting from the insights and expertise of high-profile keynote speakers leading the way in global health, the conference welcomes the outcomes of the high-level ministerial on Global Health of last 20th March in Brussels. It will also provide recommendations on the implementation of the European Global Health Strategy and will end with a call to action addressed to the EU and its Member States from Civil Society to reaffirm the right to Health for All based on principles of equity and inclusivity within EU health policies.
The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed and exacerbated the pre-existing fragilities of health systems. The consequences of the climate emergency, environmental distress and pollution, unhealthy nutrition and lack of financial resources and insecurity are additional health factors to consider. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), half of the world’s population does not receive essential healthcare services. Currently, there is a global shortfall of 523 million people not being provided with quality essential health services and quality, safe, effective, affordable, and essential medicines, vaccines, diagnostics, and health technologies.
An extra push at the multilateral and the regional levels is needed. The European Union has been a promoter of UHC and fulfils a global leadership role in strengthening national health systems. This is a key priority of the EU’s new Global Health Strategy, a key pillar of the European Health Union and the Global Gateway Strategy. Its aim is to expand access to basic, essential healthcare services, encourage investments in health systems and support social and civil society participation across health processes and policymaking.
Strongly convinced of the benefits of having robust, public social services, the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU is building on this political momentum by focusing on health as a right, based on the AAAAQ-approach: affordable, accessible, available and acceptable healthcare services and products of assured quality for all. Sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and achieving UHC, including through social protection systems, are also priorities of the Belgian presidency.
The Belgian Minister for Development Cooperation: “The focus of our EU Presidency is building a more equal partnership between Europe and Africa, specifically when it comes to health. Together, we decided to work together more closely on the development of affordable, accessible, and quality healthcare systems in Africa, building on each other’s expertise and knowledge. We made this commitment during our successful ministerial Team Europe mission to the African Union in Addis Ababa; and we reaffirmed this commitment during at the EU-AU high-level meeting in Brussels a few weeks ago. Now, hundreds of experts, policymakers, academics and civil society organisations have gathered to emphasise again how crucial it is for Europe to continue to invest in human development in its international partnerships, and in health especially. We can only be healthy, here in Europe, if all of us are healthy, and this requires continuous efforts from all actors involved. Therefore, it is essential that Civil society not only holds policymakers accountable, but that they help to develop policies that can effectively deliver quality healthcare for all.”.
Jean Vanwetter, CEO of Enabel, the Belgian Development Agency: “The right to healthcare has been a core theme of Belgian international cooperation for many years, and our country has internationally recognised expertise in this area. The European MAV+ projects to which Enabel contributes, aims to make Africa more autonomous in terms of vaccines production and availability of medicines”.
Stefaan Van Bastelaere, Chair of the Steering Committee of Be-cause health, the Belgian Platform for Global Health: “As an open platform, Be-cause health advocates for a more effective Belgian contribution to global health policies and for an international policy debate based on the right to health and healthcare for all. This expert conference gives us the opportunity to feed into the implementation of the EU Global Health Strategy. Achieving health equity requires more than just rhetoric; it necessitates concrete steps to allocate resources, strengthen health systems, and foster equitable partnerships. It compels us to break down silos and embrace a holistic, planetary health approach that acknowledges the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health”.
High-level representatives participating in the expert conference :
Political actors:
• Mrs Caroline Gennez, Minister of Development Cooperation, representing the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU
• Mrs. Neema Lugangira, Member of Parliament, Tanzania
• M. Christophe Megbedji, Préfet Couffo, Bénin
Institutional actors:
• Mrs. Heidy Rombouts, Director-General of DG Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid (DGD), Belgian Service Public Federal Foreign Affairs, External Trade and Development Cooperation
• M. Koen Doens, Director-General of DG International Partnerships (DG INTPA), European Commission
• Mrs. Erica Gerretsen, Director of DG INTPA – Directorate Human Development, Migration, Governance and Peace, European Commission
• M. Jean Vanwetter, CEO of Enabel, the Belgian Development Agency
• Dr. Agnès Soucat, Director of Health and Social Protection, Agence française de développement (AFD)
• M. Matthew Jowett, Head a.i. Health Financing Unit, World Health Organization (WHO)
Academics, Civil Society, Think tanks:
• M. Justin Koonin, co-chair, UHC2030
• Mrs. Nicoletta Dentico, Director General Health Justice Programme, Society for International Development
• Mrs. Caroline Mbindyo, CEO Health Innovations, AMREF Health
• M. Luc Van Gorp, President, Christian Mutuality, Belgium
• Mme Célestine Ametepe, Secrétaire Générale, PNUSS Bénin
• M. Rowan Dunn, EU Advocacy Coordinator, Global Health Advocates, Concord
• Dr. Christine Tashobya, Makrere University, Uganda
• M. Patrick Alain Fouda, Member of the Global Fund Youth Council, Kameroon
• Dr. Lauren Paremoer, University of Cape Town, South Africa
• M. Sam Bilal, Associate Director, ECDPM
• Ms. Sohaila Osman, Student Master Global Health, Belgium
And many more…