EU inaugurates €5.1bn  programme to improve health situation

The European Union (EU) launched a 5.1-billion-euro (6.01-billion-U.S.-dollar) programme on Friday to improve the health situation in the bloc.

The EU4Health programme aimed at helping EU member states to “strengthen the resilience of their health systems and promote innovation in the health sector’’ with a vision of a European Health Union, the European Commission said in a release.

The programme, proposed by the European Commission in May 2020 as a response to the COVID-19 health crisis, is set to last from 2021 to 2027.

“This unprecedented budget of 5.1 billion euros will enable us to make targeted investments to enhance our crisis preparedness and build stronger, more resilient and more accessible health systems,’’ said European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides.

The programme has set four objectives which include improving and fostering health in the EU; protecting EU citizens from serious cross-border threats to health; enhancing availability, accessibility and affordability of medical products.

Others include medical devices and crisis-relevant products; strengthening health systems resilience and resource efficiency. (1 euro = 1.18 U.S. dollars)