Cross-border health threats preparedness and response

ASSET has been presenting at the international conferenceBest practices in implementing the International Health Regulations (IHR)” that was held on June 7th and 8th, 2018 in Athens, Greece. This initiative has been promoted by several European Agencies (Directorate for Health and Food Safety – DG SANTE; Consumers, Health, Agriculture and Food Executive Agency – CHAFEA; European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control – ECDC) as well as by the hosting Greek institutions.

Concerning the fields of cross-border health threats preparedness and response and IHR implementation, the specific conference objectives were to present: • an overview of the current European framework • the monitoring and evaluation framework adopted by WHO • experiences and challenges in achieving interoperability • the results of EU-funded projects • lessons to Greek and European public health authorities in revising national plans and improving operational procedures.

Specifically, “Challenges in Public Health: Motivating the community – the ASSET Project” was the title of the presentation on ASSET results. The speech was included in the second session of the first conference day (June 7) where the main objective was to provide an overview both on the European action plan for Emerging, Chemical, Biological and Radiological (CBRN) threats, and on lessons learned from activities and projects financed in this area with valuable results for the public health sector.

In the end, ASSET revealed to be connected with many aspects that were presented during the two-day conference:

  • The regulatory framework that is the Decision 1082/2013/EU on serious cross-border threats to health that – beside providing the framework to improve preparedness and coordinate response to health emergencies across the European caused by biological, chemical, environmental agents and threats of unknown origin (see ASSET on Intentionally Caused Outbreaks) – recognizes the relevance of an effective communication planning in the broader risk management;
  • The cross-sectoral and multistakeholder approach to effectively tackle public health emergencies of international concern, standing for interoperability among different action levels that includes the involvement of several stakeholders. Based on a common language and mutual understanding (see ASSET ), collaboration has to be conceived in the same field (e.g., Ministries of Health, Transport, Home Affairs, Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Environment, Labour and Social Policies) as well as among different sectors (i.e., public, private, no-profit and NGOs). A crucial role is played by ports of entry such as airports, naval ports, crossing grounds (see ASSET );
  • The Action Plan is the most relevant tool in matter of preparedness against CBRN threats at European level (see ASSET ) starting from a very practical approach that encompasses simulation exercises as well as professional training (see ASSET );
  • The legacy and sustainability need to be carefully considered with particular concern to the relation and implications from international to national levels (see ASSET ).

MMLAP and other EU Projects

Health system analysis to support capacity development in response to the threat of pandemic influenza in Asia
Making society an active participant in water adaptation to global change
Public Participation in Developing a Common Framework for Assessment and Management of Sustainable Innovation
Engaging all of Europe in shaping a desirable and sustainable future
Expect the unexpected and know how to respond
Driving innovation in crisis management for European resilience
Effective communication in outbreak management: development of an evidence-based tool for Europe
Solutions to improve CBRNe resilience
Network for Communicable Disease Control in Southern Europe and Mediterranean Countries
Developing the framework for an epidemic forecast infrastructure
Strengthening of the national surveillance system for communicable diseases
Surveillance of vaccine preventable hepatitis
European monitoring of excess mortality for public health action
European network for highly infectious disease
Dedicated surveillance network for surveillance and control of vaccine preventable diseases in the EU
Modelling the spread of pandemic influenza and strategies for its containment and mitigation
Cost-effectiveness assessment of european influenza human pandemic alert and response strategies
Bridging the gap between science, stakeholders and policy makers
Promotion of immunization for health professionals in Europe
Towards inclusive research programming for sustainable food innovations
Addressing chronic diseases and healthy ageing across the life cycle
Medical ecosystem – personalized event-based surveillance
Studying the many and varied economic, social, legal and ethical aspects of the recent developments on the Internet, and their consequences for the individual and society at large
Get involved in the responsible marine research and innovation
Knowledge-based policy-making on issues involving science, technology and innovation, mainly based upon the practices in Parliamentary Technology Assessment
Assessment of the current pandemic preparedness and response tools, systems and practice at national, EU and global level in priority areas
Analysis of innovative public engagement tools and instruments for dynamic governance in the field of Science in Society
Public Engagement with Research And Research Engagement with Society
Computing Veracity – the Fourth Challenge of Big Data
Providing infrastructure, co-ordination and integration of existing clinical research networks on epidemics and pandemics
Promote vaccinations among migrant population in Europe
Creating mechanisms for effectively tackling the scientific and technology related challenges faced by society
Improve the quality of indoor air, keeping it free from radon
Improving respect of ethics principles and laws in research and innovation, in line with the evolution of technologies and societal concerns
Investigating how cities in the West securitise against global pandemics
Creating a structured dialogue and mutual learning with citizens and urban actors by setting up National Networks in 10 countries across Europe
Identifying how children can be change agents in the Science and Society relationship
Establishing an open dialogue between stakeholders concerning synthetic biology’s potential benefits and risks
Transparent communication in Epidemics: Learning Lessons from experience, delivering effective Messages, providing Evidence