European Health Forum Gastein 2026
29 September - 02 October 2026 / Bad Hofgastein, Austria, and online
Join EuroHealthNet at the European Health Forum Gastein (EHFG) 2026. With the theme 'Health for a stronger European Union – high time for action!', the event will feature the session 'The implementation gap – Why good health and care initiatives get stuck – and what we can do about it', co-organised by EuroHealthNet.
About the event
Since its foundation in 1998, the EHFG has developed into a key policy platform, bringing together politicians, senior decision-makers, community members, and experts in the field of health and beyond. This year, the conference's theme is "Health for a stronger European Union – high time for action!".
Europe stands at a pivotal moment for health and well-being. Health is not only a social good but a strategic pillar of European unity and resilience. As a continent, Europe's strengths lie in its diversity and commitment to collaboration over competition, solidarity and shared values, democracy and freedom. As we face growing political turbulence that threatens these principles, strengthening health systems is both a political necessity and a democratic imperative. As we negotiate the next Multiannual Financial Framework, now is the time for stakeholders to champion health, solidarity, and equity not as costs but as investments for a resilient future.
Session hosted by EuroHealthNet
EuroHealthNet will co-host Session 24, 'The implementation gap: Why good health and care initiatives get stuck – and what we can do about it'.
- Friday, 2 October 2026 | 11:00-12:15 | Kursaal
- Organised by EuroHealthNet, the Transforming Health and Care Systems Partnership (THCS), the AAL Programme, and Stichting Health ClusterNET.
- Learn more about this session
Across Europe, a familiar pattern repeats: a promising initiative launches, demonstrates impact, stakeholders align — then funding ends, the team disperses, and the model disappears. Not because it failed, but because no pathway existed to take it further. Nowhere is this starker than in health promotion and disease prevention, where what works is established but rarely funded to last.
This session brings institutional, financing and implementation perspectives — including novel financing models and ecosystem examples — to discuss what it would take: where governance and financing need to shift and what "ecosystem thinking" looks like in practice.
