EU Global Health Strategy: Council approves conclusions

The Council approved conclusions on the ‘EU Global Health Strategy: Better health for all in a changing world’, in which it reaffirms the leading role of the EU and its member states in advancing global health.

The Council acknowledges that physical and mental health is a human right and that health is a prerequisite for sustainable development.

The Council welcomes the communication of the European Commission on the EU Global Health Strategy and further emphasises that the EU and its member states must play a leading role in ensuring that global health remains at the top of the international agenda. Global health requires effective multilateralism and inclusive multistakeholder partnerships, and is an essential pillar of EU external policy.

Recognising that efforts should be guided by the EU Action Plan on Human rights and Democracy 2020-2024, the Council conclusions on the Youth Action Plan in EU external action and the Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Council calls for increased ambition, a comprehensive approach to health including the promotion of health and well-being, mental health, fighting discrimination and stigma and tackling inequalities.

 

Reports confirm the European Health Union is better prepared to combat health threats

The three complementary priorities of the EU Global Health Strategy, as pillar of Global Gateway and the European Health Union, should guide these efforts:

• deliver better health and well-being for people across their life course
• strengthen health systems and advance universal health coverage
• prevent and combat health threats, including pandemics, applying a One Health approach

The Council calls on the European Commission, the High Representative and the member states to apply these guiding principles and implement as appropriate the lines of action and initiatives proposed, in a Team Europe approach. This includes taking concrete action to promote global health across relevant sectors, strengthening capacity and enhancing coordination, taking a proactive and constructive role to strengthen multilateral cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO) at its core, and by filling existing gaps in global governance and ensuring complementarity and coherence of action, expanding equitable and mutually-beneficial bilateral, regional, trans-regional and global partnerships. It also includes promoting equitable access to health services and products, including through local manufacturing, collectively enhancing financing for global health at global, regional and national level, supporting domestic resource mobilisation in partner countries, developing a coherent EU global health diplomacy with augmented capacity in EU Delegations and regularly taking stock of progress and the impact of the strategy.

Background

On 30 November 2022, the Commission adopted a communication on a new ‘EU Global Health Strategy: Better health for all in a changing world’, designed to improve global health security and deliver better health for all.

The strategy will guide EU action in the field of global health until 2030 and sets out clear policy priorities, guiding principles and operational lines of action. It also creates a new monitoring framework to assess the effectiveness and impact of EU policies and funding.

More information: Council of the EU