EU Health Forum

The EU HEALTH FORUM brings together organisations active in health to advise the European Commission on health policy, which is also a key element of the EU Health policy. The Forum enables the health community to participate in health policy making from the start.

The EU Health Forum is an information and consultation mechanism between Directorate General Health and Consumers (DG Sanco) and members to ensure that the aims of the Community's health strategy are made clear to the public and respond to their concerns. It provides an opportunity to representative organisations of patients, health professionals and other stakeholders, such as health service providers, to make contributions to health policy development, its implementation and the setting of priorities for action.

The EU Health Forum is composed of two complementary elements: An Open Forum as a platform for general exchange of information and for a discussion with a broader range of groups and interested parties, and a Health Policy Forum with a consistent set of member organisations, for the discussion of key policy areas.

The European Union Health Policy Forum originated in 2001. During the past years it has served as an instrument for communication between the Commission and members and has provided useful feedback on EC policy proposals and implementing actions. In the context of the adoption of the new Health Strategy it was appropriate to review the functioning of the Forum and adjust the mandate, composition and working methods. The members of the Forum have discussed the mandate at several meetings and together with the Commission sought a model of functioning of the Forum that would lead to more efficient operation, better contribution to policy making and a more active role for members in the implementation of the Health Strategy.

Goals and Objectives

The overarching goal of the EU Health Forum is to contribute to the development and implementation of actions to protect and improve the health of European citizens. In particular, the objectives of the Forum are:

· To provide a communication channel between policy makers and stakeholders on EU health policy issues. The information in this channel should flow in both directions and should also facilitate communication among stakeholders. This requires a strong commitment of Forum members both to ensure dissemination within their networks but also to reach beyond their members in an open and inclusive manner.

· To enable stakeholders to contribute to EU health policies by identifying emerging health issues, proposing policy options or shaping and giving feedback on policy proposals and implementing measures;

· To support delivery of the EU Health Strategy by health advocacy and other appropriate means and tools at EU, national, regional and local levels.

In the context of implementation of the EU Health Strategy and the Commission's activities aimed at mapping of strategic priorities, the EU Health Policy Forum agreed to work in the period June-December 2008 towards the following objectives:

1. To identify strategic priorities on the basis of broad consultation with EUHPF members and their constituencies;

2. Specify topics for discussion with a broader Public Health community at the Open Forum conference on 10-11 December 2008 in Brussels based on the identified strategic priorities;

3. Finalise the EUHF mandate including the Work Plan 2009-2010;

4. Establish a working group that would further work on strategic priority themes.

The Eurocare Secretariat is a member in this working group.

For more information see:

http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_overview/health_forum/health_forum_en.htm