Health Pro Brief

Thu 31 October 2024 | View online

Estimated reading time: 4-5 minutes

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Are we ready? Former Finnish President, Sauli Niinistö, presents his report on civil and military preparedness, health is up there among his top concerns, ranging from the threat of a future pandemic, to the weaponisation of biotech. The Parliament is also gearing up for next week’s hearings, the Health Commissioner-designate should expect some tough questioning from MEPs.

Today’s news

🟡 Preparedness

Niinistö report places health at the centre of civil preparedness

In his report - Strengthening Europe’s civil and military preparedness and readiness - Former Finnish President, Sauli Niinistö points to the risk of a future pandemic as being among the primary health threat categories.


“As we have experienced, a pandemic can have a profound shock effect on European citizens, our society and economy, and possibly also our security and defence,” he said.


Introducing Niinistö’s report, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the report will be at the core of the Preparedness Union Strategy that the new Commission will present.


Climate threat: The report points to the dangers of climate change to public health and says that the need for adaptation and mitigation should be embedded throughout all policies, including public health.


The link between environmental change and new pathogens was underlined, “The profound changes to ecosystems as a result of global warming can increase the risks of new pandemics caused by zoonotic diseases.”

Biotech threats: Niinistö included the possible development of synthetic pathogens, including transmutations of animal viruses to become infectious for humans or zoonotic diseases as a threat.


“Advancing biotechnological possibilities to develop synthetic pathogens, aided by AI-driven software systems, is creating new risks related to future health preparedness and weaponisation by state or non-state actors.”


Niinistö recommends establishing a strong health crisis preparedness and response framework, which builds on two cornerstone legislations – the Serious Cross-Border Threats to Health and Emergency Framework regulations.


Psychological resilience: Niinistö’s report also placed importance on building citizens’ psychological resilience as “crucial” in coping with an environment of increasing risk and uncertainty. Read the full report here.

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🟡 Commissioner hearings

MEP Peter Liese anticipates a tense hearing for Health Commissioner-designate, Olivér Vårhelyi

The hearing by MEPs of Olivér Vårhelyi, the potential future Health Commissioner, is expected to be tense. This is the prediction of German MEP Peter Liese (EPP), ahead of hearing on 6 November.


“We really need to wait for the hearing and see how strongly he shows that he has vision, not only on medicine, on health policy in a broader sense, but also on animal welfare. And then we will definitely take some time to assess that hearing. I don't think it will be an easy assessment,” said Liese.


However, Liese believes that rejecting Várhelyi as a candidate could present other problems. Liese was concerned that it could make the process highly political and that Viktor Orbán could “try to take the whole European Union hostage while not presenting another candidate.”


“It has never happened that a member state just doesn't come forward with a new proposal [for Commissioner]. You can wait two months, three months. So if he really shows that he's not capable, we need to take that risk,” Peter Liese concluded.


On October 23, Olivér Vårhelyi submitted his written responses to questions from MEPs. The Hungarian candidate highlighted his in-depth knowledge of several files he had followed while working at the Council of the EU, such as pharmaceutical legislation, the Medical Devices Regulation, and the Tobacco Products Directive. These three files are set to be reviewed in the coming years.

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🟡 Trans-health

Healthcare for trans people in the EU held back by significant delays  

A new map compiling EU data on healthcare found significant delays, stigma and a lack of public health funding for trans people, according to Transgender Europe (TGEU), an NGO network with 200 member organisations in over 50 countries.  


The NGO reports that trans-specific healthcare continues to be pathologised in a majority of EU member swtates, despite WHO reforms in 2019, which decategorised trans identities as a mental health disorder.


“We know for certain that 12 EU member states use the formal diagnosis of ‘Transsexualism’ under ‘ICD-10, five use ‘Gender Dysphoria’ [...]. Only Malta, Denmark, and eight regions of Spain (for which we have information) do not require a psychiatric diagnosis as a prerequisite to access any form of trans-specific healthcare.”

Mixed picture: In Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland and Italy, waiting times range between 1-3 years for care, as those countries have dedicated gender clinics. In Ireland, where trans-specific care is delivered through the National Gender Service (NGS), waiting times went up to over 10 years.

The map does not rank the member states on performance, as “ranking countries' performance on healthcare can present an incorrect picture of the ground realities,” according to TGEU, citing differences in access due to location and stigma and quality of provision of care as potential hurdles.

Why it matters: In 2025, the WHO will suggest new guidelines on trans-specific healthcare and training for health staff. Delays in waiting times have a significant psychological burden and are directly linked to increased rates of self-harm and suicidal ideation.

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🟡 Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis is the world’s deadliest infectious disease, says WHO

Tuberculosis (TB) was the world’s deadliest infectious disease in 2023, surpassing COVID, according to new estimates from the World Health Organisation (WHO).  


Around 8.2 million people were newly diagnosed with TB in 2023, which is the highest number recorded since WHO began global TB monitoring in 1995.


“The fact that TB still kills and sickens so many people is an outrage, when we have the tools to prevent it, detect it and treat it,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.


Only five countries, including Pakistan, India, Indonesia, China and the Philippines accounted for 56 percent of global TB burden. Key risk factors include smoking, undernutrition, alcohol use disorder, diabetes and HIV infection.  


Challenges cited with tackling TB include underfunding for research, diagnosis and treatment (particularly for low- and middle- income countries), multidrug-resistant TB, and vaccine shortages.

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🟡 In the capitals

Supported by Efpia

UK detects first case of new mpox variant

UK - A single human case of Clade Ib mpox has been confirmed in the UK yesterday (29 October), although the risk remains low to population health, said the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).


This is the first occurrence of this clade type in the country, whereas mpox Clade II has circulated in the UK at low levels since 2022. The variant is a far deadlier version of the virus than the one that caused the global outbreak in 2022, brought under control in Europe through direct engagement with gay, bisexual and other men-who-have-sex-with-men (GBMSM).


“While this is the first confirmed case of mpox Clade Ib in the UK, there has been extensive planning underway to ensure healthcare professionals are equipped and prepared to respond to any confirmed cases,” said the UKHSA, in a press briefing.  


Professor Susan Hopkins, Chief Medical Adviser at UKHSA said that “investigations are underway” to learn how the individual acquired the infection and whether it has been tied to any additional cases.

 

Clade Ib mpox has been widely circulating in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It was declared a WHO public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) on 14 August, with additional cases reported in Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya.  


So far, only two other cases have been detected in Europe: one in Germany and another in Sweden.

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French minister announces prospective ban on nicotine pouches

France - French Health Minister GeneviĂšve Darrieussecq announced in an interview in Le Parisien a forthcoming ban on nicotine sachets, which are particularly popular with young people.

"The risk is to induce nicotine dependence and then a return to smoking,” she said. The government has decided to ban these products “whether they are sachets containing nicotine to be placed in the mouth, against the gums or under the tongue, known as pouches,” Darrieussecq added.


The Minister was particularly concerned by the high number of teenagers reporting problems, including vomiting, convulsions and other side effects linked to the pouches.


The announcement comes just ahead of November when there is a campaign to help people stop smoking and using tobacco.


The text of the proposal is expected to be published in the next few weeks.

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🟡 Agenda

What’s coming up

Thursday 31/10

Friday 01/11

Monday 4/11

Tuesday 5/11

Read more

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. Additional reporting by Krassen Nikolov. Share your feedback or information with us at digital@euractiv.com.

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