European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen noted the critical role of screening and early diagnosis when she presented Europe’s Beating Cancer Action Plan more than a year ago. On average in the EU, only 3% of health budgets go into prevention. Yet even if Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan has embraced early detection and diagnosis in line with the fact that prevention is usually better and less expensive than the cure, policy makers have not applied the same logic to many other disease areas that would yield equally impressive returns on investment.

It should be our joint aim to set the same ambition in other disease areas. Healthcare systems in Europe need further EU level support for screening programmes as well as cooperation and coordination among EU Member States. It is well known that screening and early diagnosis are lifesaving, life-changing and cost-efficient compared with the cost of failing to catch and treat a disease early. But it is also known that access to early diagnosis can vary significantly from one country to another, challenging the EU’s goal of giving people equal access to high-quality health care.

This meeting should serve as a call to action for Europe to embrace effective strategies on screening and early diagnosis as well as policy recommendations that can prevent not only cancer but also a wide range of other illnesses, saving lives and reducing suffering for patients.

Health First Europe and the Co-chairs of the EP Interest Group on Innovation in Health and Social Care would like to make a tangible contribution to this debate. We will inform the audience presenting some of the findings of the latest Insight Report of Health First Europe as well as elicit the views of EU policymakers on future actions towards a truly strong European Health Union and a more secure, better prepared and more resilient EU.

 Key issues to be discussed

• Findings of the latest Insight Report of Health First Europe
• Embrace effective strategies on screening and early diagnosis

Keynote contributors

• MEP Tomislav Sokol – Croatia, EPP
• John Ryan – Director of Public Health, DG Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE), European Commission
• Peggy Maguire – Director General of the European Institute of Women's Health
• Professor Nebojsa Lalic - Chair-Elect of the International Diabetes Federation Europe
• Edward Harding – Network Director of the Heart Failure Policy Network

The debate will be moderated by Dr. Roberto Bertollini – President of Health First Europe 

We hope to see you online at our virtual roundtable! Register now!