Health and wellbeing for all: an indispensable resource for a sustainable future
EuroHealthNet’s 2023 highlights and 2024 preview
The EuroHealthNet team thanks all of you for an engaging and eventful 2023! Together, we showed the urgency to address growing inequalities, exchanged knowledge and good practices, and fostered collaboration throughout Europe.
As we start 2024, we find ourselves at a crossroads. The consequences of climate change are tangible, inequalities remain high, and it is increasingly obvious that our current economic system is not sustainable. Yet there is resistant to change. Amidst all these challenges, however, there
are glimmers of hope.
Read about EuroHealthNet's 2023 highlights and our ambitious plans for the year ahead.
We called for a European Wellbeing Economy
Over the course of 2023, EuroHealthNet organised a series of exchanges in Brussels, Finland, and Spain to push for a European Wellbeing Economy that benefits people and the planet, ensuring human dignity and fairness.
Discussions focused on how to achieve a Wellbeing Economy in Europe, using, for example, the EU’s annual cycle of economic and social policy coordination, known as the European Semester, as a vehicle. Our findings are compiled in a must-read Policy Paper.
Both our Policy Paper and our call for a European Commission Vice-President for a Wellbeing Economy, gained media coverage and sparked a crucial dialogue amongst organisations, setting the stage for a much needed discussion ahead of the upcoming European Parliament elections in June 2024.
We formulated health priorities for the EC
In the wake of the European elections, a new European Commission will shape its policy priorities for the next five-year term. Building on our Foresight study on the role of public health by 2035, we have outlined our priorities for the 2024-2029 EU policy landscape to improve health equity.
We empowered public health professionals
The European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) continues to guide our work towards a strong, social, and healthy Europe. Our EPSR Flashcard Tool helps public health professionals and decision-makers embed the social principles in their work.
Stay tuned for the release of the next batch of flashcards in 2024, covering the EPSR principles on health care, social dialogue, gender equality, and access to essential services.
We fostered international collaboration
In 2023, we were proud to kick-off Schools4Health, a new EuroHealthNet-led initiative dedicated to further the adoption of a 'health-promoting school' approach to enhance the role of schools in shaping students health and wellbeing.
Join us on January 31, either in Brussels or online, for the first Schools4Health seminar on ‘Innovating health and education’. This event will explore how stakeholders can better work together to help schools contribute to students’ health and wellbeing.
Following this, we have also successfully secured several additional EU initiatives focused on health promotion and disease prevention, mental health, and climate change, bringing our total project portfolio to 15 and showcasing EuroHealthNet's unwavering commitment to advancing health and wellbeing across Europe.
We spurred a sustainable food system transition
Food and how it is produced are fundamental to our health and that of our planet. As healthy nutrition becomes more elusive and expensive, we have stepped up our work on a sustainable food system transition.
At the 2023 European Public Health Conference, we held a plenary session on 'Transitioning to more sustainable food systems that support health and wellbeing'. For further information read our article in Eurohealth and our latest magazine edition.
We facilitated expert exchange
In 2023, we published an article comparing Best Practice Portals for health promotion and EuroHealthNet’s Health Inequalities Portal now includes more than 1000 resources in its database.
Two EuroHealthNet Country Exchange Visits to Paris and Vienna brought together more than 50 senior public health experts from our Member organisations to discuss the potential of caring communities and reducing alcohol consumption.
Moreover, our new Thematic Working Group (TWIG) on prevention of mental ill-health and promotion of mental wellbeing aspires to become an information hub for opportunities related to mental health promotion and prevention in Europe.
We continued to expand our Partnership
Over the last year, we have had the pleasure of welcoming 10 new organisations to our Partnership, bringing our total membership to 73 Members, Associate Members and Observers.
Thank you!
We are grateful for the core grant we received from the European Union through the European Social Fund Plus.
More highlights from 2023
- Hosted by our member, the Norwegian Directorate of Health, EuroHealthNet’s Annual Seminar, 'Making progress on health equity', gathered over 300 experts to discuss developing evidence-based policies and setting concrete targets to prevent chronic disease and mitigate climate change.
- EuroHealthNet addressed the 73rd WHO Regional Committee for Europe. Watch our statement on accelerating action to improve health equity, and read our statement on mitigating the health impact of climate change.
- Two new Policy Précis dive into the rising costs of living and their impact on health and wellbeing and how to improve vaccine uptake and vaccine equity.
- Our new guide to the National Focal Points for EU Programmes, Instruments and Networks, helps the public health community make better use of EU funding and tools.
Our latest video introduces our Partnership’s Workplace Gender, Equality and Diversity Policy and our vision for inclusive workplaces.
