Bridging towards the future of public health in Europe (I). Where can and should we go from here?

Abstract

Abstract Europe is entering the third decade of the 21st century and health is on the agenda. Or is it? It seems that with Europeans healthier than ever and enormously improving our ability to prevent and treat current diseases, health seems to be a theme of the past. At the same time, the society is in turmoil and both old and new health challenges are threatening Europe. The changing demographics–climate change, urbanization, migration and ageing–the technological and digital revolution–given us both medical technology as fake news, genetic mapping and new addictions (gaming)–and the resurgence of old diseases such as measles, all lead to the necessity of bridging our previous successes with the need for a new public health in the future. In 2019, several changes are occurring: we will have a new regional director for WHO Europe and we will have both a new European Parliament, a new European president of the European Commission, a new European Commission and a new European Commissioner for Health. And these changes have led to a new discussion on the necessity of health as a European topic. In this plenary session, we will look at the priorities in public health from the perspective of the European Commission, the Finnish presidency of the European Council and the European Public Health Association. Finally, we have invited a young professional to reflect on the plans proposed in this session. Panellists Anne Bucher Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE), European Commission Liisa-Maria Voipio-Pulkki Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, Finland Dineke Zeegers Paget Executive Director EUPHA Sara McQuinn Coordinator EUPHAnxt