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EAHP President on Rare Disease Day: ALL countries should have a rare disease plan

On the occasion of World Rare Disease Day (28 February), Dr Roberto Frontini, President of the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP), has added his voice to calls for all European countries to design and implement national rare disease plans.

More details here.

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European Parliament gives approval to EU health programme 2014-2020

The European Parliament has voted, by large majority, to approve the European Commission’s ‘Health Programme 2014-2020’. The 446m euro programme will help fund the uptake of innovative solutions to improve healthcare provision, and the pooling of resources and know-how between countries to address common problems in the area of healthcare.

The programme follows two previous such initiatives (2003-2007; 2008-2013) with a greater focus in the new programme on how health can contribute to economic growth, including employment, innovation and sustainability. The programme aims to support EU countries reform their health systems by promoting actions on the prevention of chronic and major diseases and the uptake of innovation in health such as Health Technology Assessment and eHealth.

Specifically, the funding pool will be used to fund:

• “Joint Actions” of national competent authorities responsible for public health;
• “Grants for actions” (projects) co-financed by other public, non-governmental or private bodies, including international health organisations; and
• grants for the functioning of non-governmental bodies

In most cases, the grants will contribute 60% of the costs of the action/project.

The first call for proposals under the terms of the new programme is expected in Apri/early May 2014.

More information on the vote here.

More information about the programme here.

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Consultation on a “European Area of Skills and Qualifications”

The European Commission (DG Education) has opened a consultation on the construction of a “European Area of Skills and Qualifications”. Closing on 15 April 2014, it aims to collect the views of stakeholders and individuals on the problems faced by learners and workers with regard to the transparency and recognition of their skills and qualifications when moving within and between EU Member States.

The consultation document begins with acknowledgement that:

• the traditional school-work-retirement pattern is no longer the norm. “Today’s reality sees individuals go through several transitions within their lifetime, in their country of origin or abroad, including periods of going from work back to education, being in work and education simultaneously or volunteering.”
• Open technologies have the potential to allow individuals to learn, anywhere, anytime, through any device, with the support of anyone. “The emergence of innovative models for teaching and learning, (see for example Massive Open Online Courses - MOOCs), is likely to transform the delivery of education and create new competition and centres of excellence worldwide.”

Reflecting future trends, the EU is seeking to develop new policies and instruments that should:

• be coherent and centred on the learner, promoting flexible learning pathways,
• support new phenomena such as the growing use of digital learning and internationalisation of education,
• provide better services to learners and workers,
• be simpler, better understandable and more coherent, and
• support national structural reforms that aim to achieve these objectives.

The consultation responses will be used to support development of potential Commission proposals for revising EU instruments for the transparency and recognition of skills and qualifications, possibly to be published in early 2015.

More information about the consultation here.

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