Honored to join the Future of the Health Union

We are grateful to have been invited by the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2024 to the High Level Conference on the Future of the Health Union. This gathering has been a forum to address critical issues that will define the direction of health and healthcare systems in Europe.

During the event, fundamental topics were discussed, such as medicine shortages, protection, preparedness, regulation of alcohol and the crucial financing of our healthcare systems.

We particularly want to highlight the importance of the "Health Workforce" topic that Deputy Prime Minister Frank Vandenbroucke brought to the discussion. This has been a key theme at the conference, with notable conceptual contributions from WHO Regional Office for Europe and its Regional Director Hans Kluyge, of the "Framework for Action of the European Health Workforce 2023-2030".

The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the pressing need to improve the working conditions of our healthcare workers. Health systems must ensure safe and satisfactory working conditions to enable professionals to provide quality service to citizens. As rightly pointed out by the Vice-President of the European Doctors (CPME), Martin Balzan, during the session on health workforce: "We need more, better, and happier doctors".

We face numerous challenges in implementing measures and joint frameworks, underscoring the need for a coherent European strategy for the health workforce. This event has been a significant step towards consolidating our collective efforts to meet these challenges and ensure a healthier future for everyone in Europe.

We thank the Belgian Presidency for leading these vital conversations and look forward to closely collaborating with all stakeholders to carry continue working on the initiatives discussed.