EU Global Health Strategy -Better health for all in a changing world

Background

The European Commission adopted in November 2022 a new EU Global Health Strategy to improve global health security and deliver better health for all, drawing from the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic and positioning global health as an essential pillar of EU external policy. The EESC decided to adopt an opinion on this Strategy, presenting its views on what is needed for its proper implementation and for advancing towards the health-related targets of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The EESC opinion covers the three priorities of the Strategy, namely:

- deliver better health and well-being of people across the life course;

- strengthen health systems and advance universal health coverage;

- prevent and combat health threats, including pandemics.

Key points:

In the opinion the EESC:

• recognises the urgent need for global action to address communicable and non-communicable diseases, improving disease surillance systems, vaccination programmes, etc;
• recommends enhancing investment in health to strengthen the EU's global leadership role and underlines that health considerations, including mental health, should be integrated into all areas of EU external engagement;
• expresses concern about the shortage of healthcare workers and supports seeking formal EU observer status in the World Health Organization and developing robust health diplomacy;

The full text of the opinion can be found here.

Additional information:

EESC section: External Relations Section (REX)

Opinion: optional

Rapporteurs: Barros Vale (Employers-Group I/Portugal, Danko Relić (Civil Society Organisations-Group III/ Croatia), Carlos Manuel Trindade (Workers-Group II/ Portugal)

Reference: REX/573-EESC-2023

Referral: COM(2022) 675 final

Date of adoption by the section: 18 July 2023

Date of adoption in plenary: 20-21 September 2023

Result of the vote: 207 in favour/ 2 abstentions/ 0 against