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| Fri 25 October 2024 | View online Estimated reading time: 4-5 minutes |
| Hello , This year the EU marked 20 years since the 2004 enlargement, despite two decades of EU membership deep disparities remain across Europe and this is particularly clear in health. We take a look at the report of the GLOBESEC Healthcare Readiness Index Rankings and what they tell us. Today’s news
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| | | | Globsec health index finds a persistent East West divide in healthcare |
| Globsec, a global think tank based in Bratislava, has published its annual ranking of health preparedness among EU member states, revealing deep disparities between Central and Eastern European countries and those in Western Europe, primarily due to a lack of funding.
Norway occupies the top spot with a score of 73.1 points. While Bulgaria comes last with a score of 42.5.
Differences in investment levels are highlighted as a key factor explaining this divide.
"Underfunding translates into outdated equipment, insufficient medical supplies, and understaffed infrastructures," says the report's lead author, Martin Smatana, health expert and associate fellow at Globsec.
Urban v rural: Beyond the overall disparities, fractures also appear within individual states. Rural areas are still often poorly served, resulting in "overcrowded hospitals", "long waiting times", and limited access to specialised care, along with a lack of specialised machines, such as scanners and MRIs, particularly in Hungary and Romania.
"Without adequate infrastructure, patients wait longer to receive essential care, especially in rural areas," explains Smatana, who advocates for targeted investments to address this issue.
Understaffed and overworked: Norway has 2.4 times more nurses and doctors per 1,000 inhabitants than the average of Central and Western European countries. These professionals are utilised for a greater number of clinical activities related to public health and home care services. |
|  | Good to great: The report identifies five main traits that can make your healthcare system great.
Take the long view: Best-in-class countries perceive healthcare expenditure as a long-term investment not a as a short-term cost.
Innovation friendly: Innovations are seen as a ‘friend, not a foe’: readiness to adopt new medicines can give you an edge.
Develop the capacity of staff: Most of the best have higher staff numbers, but they also develop the scope and quality of services, either towards home care, community care, or shifting competencies.
Prevention: The best apply long term policies focused on tackling key factors that eventually influence health outcomes, like smoking, diet, exercise and alcohol consumption.
Political stability: Long-term stable leadership helps guarantee strong health outcomes. The tenure of the health minister in office is almost twice as long as the average. Read more here. Back to the top |
| | | | Helping cancer survivors return to work |
| In its Beating Cancer Plan the EU took a comprehensive view of the disease and its ramifications, including issues like access to finance after recovery. The Commission has estimated that there are more than 12 million cancer survivors in Europe, many of whom find it difficult to return to work.
In a final report on job retention and return to work for cancer patients and survivors, funded by the EU4Health programme and carried out by Ecorys consulting, researchers mapped measures in EU member states and EEA states (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) to support those with a history of cancer to remain in and return to work (RTW).
"This study highlights the urgent need for policy change to better support cancer survivors in returning to work. The barriers they face—ranging from inflexible workplace policies to insufficient health accommodations—must be addressed at a structural level,” Natacha Bolaños, a member of the European Society for Medical Oncology’s (ESMO) Patient Advocates Working Group, told Euractiv.
“As advocates, we have a responsibility to push for changes that reflect the real-world needs of survivors, ensuring they are given the resources and support to reclaim their professional lives."
There are several ways to help cancer survivors, including flexible working arrangements, tackling stigma and preconceptions, as well as strengthening the legislative framework.
The report points to a number of examples of good practice, such as the PRO JOB initiative developed by the Italian Association of Cancer Patients (AIMaC) which includes developing flexible working tools. A company example is Sanofi which introduced a policy to help those returning to work called, ‘Cancer & Work: Acting Together’. Read the report here. Back to the top |
| | | | Oral polio vaccine no longer fit for purpose, says The Lancet |
| Yesterday (24 October) on World Polio Day authors at The Lancet called the World Health Organisation (WHO) to shift from the oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) to the Salk-inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) by 2026 to eradicate polio. The authors describe this move to be “25 years overdue”.
According to the authors, The Global Polio Eradication Initiative has “lost its way” by focusing on eliminating poliovirus with mass vaccination campaigns involving the oral poliovirus vaccine. “The result has been the spread of vaccine-derived polio to dozens of countries,” they say in their article. They also said that the WHO should encourage vaccine manufacturers to scale up production of IPV and combination vaccines, such as hexavalent vaccines which are typically used for primary vaccination of infants.
While OPV is generally considered safe and effective, the weakened vaccine virus originally contained in OPV can begin to circulate in under-vaccinated communities. The authors did not compare the traditional Sabin OPV to the Novel oral poliovirus vaccine type 2 (nOPV2). Read The Lancet article here. Back to the top |
| | 🟡 Cross-border healthcare |
| | WHO highlights cross-border health initiative between Austrian, Hungarian, Slovakian and Czech regions |
| The WHO report on the Healthacross Initiative highlights successful strategies developed and implemented by Lower Austria in partnership with regions in Czechia (South Bohemia and South Moravia), Hungary and Slovakia to improve access to healthcare across their shared borders.
The initiative improved the provision of outpatient care and the exchange of medical expertise among the regions in the four EU countries involved. It provides information on how and why cross-border care started, the mechanisms used to put it in place, the key stakeholders and lessons learned, including challenges and enabling factors.
WHO estimates that one in three European citizens lives in a cross-border region. The report also provides an overview of the evolution of cross-border policies on health in the EU. Back to the top |
| | | | Bayer partners with tech startup Impli on real-time hormone monitoring |
| Bayer pharmaceutical company has announced a new partnership with Impli, a tech startup focused on fertility healthcare. The partnership will allow Bayer to further their research by using Impli’s first real-time hormone monitoring device for in vitro fertilization (IVF).
“The opportunity to break barriers together with a pioneering leader in the field such as Bayer is not just exciting—it's a chance to create meaningful change and deliver better outcomes for everyone,” said Anna Luisa Schaffgotsch, Impli’s CEO.
The device is implanted in the skin and means women need to visit fertility clinics less frequently for blood sampling tests.
Impli reports that their implanted device will not only be cheaper but also provide faster and more accurate data to detect problems like ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) much earlier than clinics. Bayer says that the benefits of this device could extend beyond IVF treatment, leading to a deeper understanding of hormones in relation to “stress, sleep, weight management, cardiovascular health, women’s health, or bone health.”
The device is predicted to be ready for human trials sometime in 2025. Read more here. Back to the top |
| | | | | French Health Minister ‘in favour’ of of taxing sweetened drinks and food products |
| France - French Health Minister Geneviève Darrieussecq expressed her support for actions targeting sweetened products and drinks at a Senate hearing on the 2025 health budget (PLFSS) on Thursday (24 October).
"I am in favour of action on sugars. It is poisoning us," Darrieussecq told the senators during her hearing regarding the PLFSS.
She argued that sugars were everywhere – even in savoury food – deeming them a "real public health issue" while proposing the introduction of taxes on sweetened beverages and food products.
Tobacco and alcohol: Darrieussecq also supports taxing tobacco and alcohol products, asserting, "That is part of primary prevention. We need to tax." Read more here. Back to the top |
| | French researchers call for mandatory Nutri-Score labelling to address public health emergency |
| France - In a column in Le Monde a collective of French researchers have called on French Prime Minister Michel Barnier to support nutri-score labelling across Europe.
The proposed labelling system is, they argue, a way for consumers to be informed of the nutritional quality of the food products they purchase.
The five-colour logo (with letters), rates foods from most (A, green) to least (E, red) healthy are preventing its extension to the whole of Europe.
The researchers say that France must make a firm commitment within Europe so that consumers everywhere on the continent have access to this nutritional logo. France adopted the system on a voluntary basis in 2017.
Despite being an early adopter of the system, French multi-national, Danone has recently decided to leave the system, saying it did not agree with the revision of the algorithm that transfers liquid dairy products and plant-based alternatives to the beverage category, they have said that the change gives an erroneous view of the nutritional quality of its products.
The researchers cite a February 2024 study by OECD researchers which estimates that implementing the Nutri-Score in the EU’s 27 member states would prevent nearly 2 million cases of non-communicable diseases by 2050 and significantly reduce annual health spending, also improving employment and productivity in the European Union. Back to the top |
| | Ireland will support treatment in UK and US to reduce spinal surgery waiting list |
| Ireland - Ireland’s Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, informed the government that he expects the waiting list for children’s spinal surgery to fall from 129 to 87 by the end of the year.
In 2022, €19 million was committed to tackling spinal surgery waiting lists by creating additional capacity. Several initiatives are underway to ensure that children receive faster access to care.
"I’m pleased to report that we are making strong progress in tackling paediatric spinal surgery waiting lists, and we’re now seeing that the significant level of investment is resulting in more children getting faster access to care,” said Donnelly. "I’m very conscious of the fact that some children are still waiting too long for care, which is not acceptable.”
Sending patients abroad: The government has also sought support from further afield. Since September 20 patients have been identified for treatment outside Ireland in the Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital in New York, Great Ormond Street in London and Portland Hospital UK.
"I have asked CHI to ensure that after Christmas, any child waiting longer than four months will, if clinically suitable, and in consultation with their treating clinician, be offered surgery overseas,” said Donnelly. Read more here. Back to the top |
| | | | | | | | | Working Party on Public Health Negotiation with EEA on medical countermeasures |
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| | | | MEPs have an external week, no committee or group meetings |
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| | Working Party on Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices |
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| | | | Working Party on Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices |
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| | Launch of OnHomeAlliance , Online Order and Home Delivery of Medicines Alliance
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| | | | | | | | | | Today’s brief was brought to you by Euractiv’s Health team |
| | | | | Today’s briefing was prepared by the Health team: Catherine Feore, Clara Bauer-Babef, Emma Pirnay, Thomas Mangin, and Lydia Williams. Share your feedback or information with us at digital@euractiv.com. |
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