EuroHealthNet Country Exchange Visit: child health inequalities and the European Child Guarantee
Online. EuroHealthNet members only
EuroHealthNet will host an online Country Exchange Visit (CEV) on child health inequalities and the European Child Guarantee (ECG) for EuroHealthNet member organisations.
The ECG aims to prevent and combat child poverty and social exclusion by supporting Member States’ efforts to guarantee access to quality key services for children in need. The European Child Guarantee is a welcome opportunity that can help tackle the roots of health inequalities. Every Member State will have to nominate a national Child Guarantee coordinator and to submit to the Commission an action plan covering the period until 2030 to implement the recommendation. During our Country Exchange Visit we will explore the European Child Guarantee and identify ‘best buys’ to improve health and wellbeing outcomes for children at risk of poverty and social exclusion, which should be part of the national action plans to achieve the objectives of the European Child Guarantee.
The CEV will offer members of EuroHealthNet an opportunity to exchange with experts and amongst each other on 5 areas covered by ECG, namely free and effective access to: 1) preventative healthcare, 2) healthy nutrition, 3) early childhood education and care, 4) education and school-based activities, 5) adequate housing.
The purpose of this CEV is twofold. One is to exchange promising policies and practices in the field of child health inequalities. Second is to explore how the European Child Guarantee can be used to advance action on child health equity.
Practical details
Due to the COVID-19 situation we will organise this Country Exchange Visit online. It is a pity that we will not be able to meet each other and visit onsite practices. However, due to the online modus, we can now organise multiple Country Visits in convenient time slots, a 1.5 hour gathering every morning of the week of 6-10 September 2021. We are preparing an attractive programme related to every area of the Child Guarantee, with online visits depending on the member countries that are going to participate.
Participants. Country Exchange Visits (CEV) are open to experts and senior colleagues from EuroHealthNet member organisations. To ensure and encourage the active participation of all participants, there will be limited places for around 10 experts. Participation is free of charge and is available to one participant per organisation. The working language of the CEV is English.
Selection of participants. Experts and senior colleagues are invited to express their interest to participate in this Country Exchange Visit by filling in and submitting the registration form. The main selection criteria are: 1) suitability of participant’s profile and 2) their availability and commitment to attend all the sessions throughout the week.
Virtual site visits. Participating EuroHealthNet members are encouraged to help identify good practices for the three site visits in the areas covered by the European Child Guarantee, addressing positive linkages between child poverty reduction and health equity improvements. The site visits will be conducted live. The ‘good practice’ representatives will present their examples, and speak to the CEV participants in real time and answer their questions. Interpretation for the site visits is available. The site visits would last 0.5 hour (around 15 minutes presentation + 15 minutes associated discussion).
Platform for the meeting. The Country Exchange Visit will take place on Microsoft Teams. An optional 30 minutes training session in advance of the CEV to introduce the Microsoft Teams to the delegates who are not familiar with it will be organised ahead of the CEV week.
Next steps
Colleagues are invited to register their interest to participate by filling in a short registration form as soon as possible, ideally by the end of July 2021. We will confirm participation by mid-August the latest.
For more information, and to return the completed registration form, please get in touch with Lina Papartyte (l.papartyte@eurohealthnet.eu).
About EuroHealthNet Country Exchange Visits
EuroHealthNet Country Exchange Visits are members-only events that are open to senior delegates. The aim is two-fold, namely (1) to exchange good practices and policies on selected core themes and showcase members’ work to a selection of senior European colleagues and, at the same time, (2) discuss how related EU policy processes may support health equity at national, regional and local levels.
