Government and Public Health

Zika won’t stop Olympic games

Thursday, July 7, 2016 - 08:03

A debate is ongoing if Olympic Games should be cancelled, moved or delayed because of the Public Health Emergency of International Concern declared by WHO on 1st February 2016 on microcephaly in Brazil, which is being proven to be associated with Zika infection. On May 25th, 150 experts in bioethics, public health and social sciences signed an open letter to the WHO, asking to skip the Games, in order to avoid a further spread of the epidemic.

Target: 
Citizens, Decision Makers, Government and Public Health
Topic: 
Epidemiology, Prevention
Tags: 
zika, Risk perception, Risk management, WHO, transparency, Uncertainty

“Pandemic”: a misleading word

June 30, 2016

Albert Osterhaus, director of the Research Center for Emerging Infections and Zoonoses (RIZ) in Hannover, Germany, and Chairman of the European Working group on Influenza (ESW), is one of the top virologist in the world, who has discovered more than 50 new viruses over the last decades. In this short video he explains why the word “pandemic” can be a cause of misunderstanding between health authorities and the public, as it happened in 2009, when the new emerging flu virus A(H1N1) turned out to be milder than expected in the beginning.

Target: 
Citizens, Government and Public Health
Topic: 
Epidemiology
Tags: 
Video, pandemic, H1N1

Public Engagement in Research, Practice and Policy

Wednesday, November 16, 2016 (All day)

Public engagement that sets citizens and stakeholders as co-designers and collaborators of R&I activities can contribute to more dynamic and responsible governance of research and innovation. Public Engagement for Research, Practice and Policy conference, to be organized on November 16-17 in Brussels, calls for experts, stakeholders, policy-makers, entrepreneurs, researchers, regional authorities and Commission officials to a joint discussion on this theme.

Read more
Type: 
General event
Target: 
Decision Makers, Government and Public Health, Healthcare Professionals, Industry & Commerce
Topic: 
Local Activities, Policy, Stakeholders
Tags: 
Event, best practice, engagement, innovation

WHO and industry: agreements in case of pandemic

June 13, 2016

One of the main source of distrust towards public health authorities is the suspect of hidden connections with the pharmaceutical industry, but, in case of a severe pandemic, an adequate supply of antivirals and vaccines is essential. ASSET asked Norman Begg, GSK Vice President, Head of Scientific Affairs and Public Health, Vaccines, what kind of agreements exist for Public Health Emergencies of International Concern (PHEIC) or of a pandemic, between big pharma and WHO. The answer for the two situations is not the same.

Target: 
Government and Public Health, Industry & Commerce
Topic: 
Stakeholders, Vaccination
Tags: 
WHO, Vaccine, Video

Public health in the aviation sector: the AIRSAN project

Wednesday, June 8, 2016 - 16:20

Two guidance documents supporting the response to public health threats in air transport were developed by the AIRSAN Project: the first on Remote risk assessment and management of communicable disease events on board an aircraft and the second on Contact tracing – Collaboration between the public health and the aviation sector. The r

Target: 
Decision Makers, Government and Public Health
Topic: 
Policy, Stakeholders
Tags: 
public health, Risk management

Vaccines: a case history of false balance on TV

Monday, May 23, 2016 - 11:09

Until the end, it seemed it could sort out to be a happy-ending story, a demonstration of how new social networks, renown for spreading misinformation, can also correct it, when used properly. But the unfortunately predictable finale showed the opposite: counteracting false ideas about vaccines is not that easy. It will take time, a big deal of patience, communication skills and a good, coordinated strategy as well.

Target: 
Citizens, Decision Makers, Government and Public Health, Healthcare Professionals, Industry & Commerce, School and Education
Topic: 
Media, Social Media, Stakeholders, Vaccination
Tags: 
Vaccine, Vaccine hesitancy, Vaccine safety, Social media, false balance

RRI: a different idea of responsibility

Friday, May 20, 2016 - 10:14

It is never easy to develop definitions, especially when we are talking about something that is emerging and changing as we speak. This is the case for Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI), an emerging process within European Framework Programs whose definition is new and evolving. However, we can certainly identify a number of key characteristics of RRI, which is an umbrella term including a wide variety of notions, coming from the academia and politics.

Target: 
Decision Makers, Government and Public Health, Industry & Commerce
Topic: 
Stakeholders
Tags: 
research, innovation

“One Health”: vaccinate camels to protect people from MERS

May 11, 2016

Albert Osterhaus, director of the Research Center for Emerging Infections and Zoonoses (RIZ) in Hannover, Germany, is also a vet and a strong promoter of the One Health movement, which aims to consider animals and humans together, as possible sources and vectors of emerging diseases. In his lab MERS-Cov was discovered, which has caused thousands of cases and hundreds of deaths so far, mainly in the Middle East and in Korea. He has studied a new strategy to counteract this disease, vaccinating the dromedary camels, which are the main source of human infections.

Target: 
Decision Makers, Government and Public Health
Topic: 
Epidemiology, Microbiology, Vaccination
Tags: 
Video, Vaccine, MERS

Cooperation and engagement for a polio-free world

Friday, May 6, 2016 - 11:11

“We are so close to ending the polio” and “Still 15 years to a polio-free world” are not contradictory statements. They instead describe, with different degree of optimism, the current framework and the objective to be pursued in the fight against this disease. In other words, we are closer than ever to the target of a world free of polio, but much remains to be done to carry the world across the threshold. Polio eradication is the next issue public health authorities will be committed to in midterm future.

Target: 
Citizens, Decision Makers, Government and Public Health, Healthcare Professionals, Industry & Commerce, School and Education
Topic: 
Epidemiology, Media, Microbiology, Prevention, Stakeholders, Vaccination
Tags: 
polio, Vaccine, Vaccine safety, Surveillance, engagement, ECDC

Why still Polio

Thursday, May 5, 2016 - 16:38

ECDC internal meeting
April 14 2016.

Target: 
Decision Makers, Government and Public Health
Topic: 
Prevention
Tags: 
polio, ECDC
PDF icon donato_greco_-_ecdc_april_14.pdf

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MMLAP and other EU Projects

AsiaFluCap
Health system analysis to support capacity development in response to the threat of pandemic influenza in Asia
BEWATER
Making society an active participant in water adaptation to global change
CASI
Public Participation in Developing a Common Framework for Assessment and Management of Sustainable Innovation
CIMULACT
Engaging all of Europe in shaping a desirable and sustainable future
DARWIN
Expect the unexpected and know how to respond
DRIVER
Driving innovation in crisis management for European resilience
ECOM
Effective communication in outbreak management: development of an evidence-based tool for Europe
EDEN
Solutions to improve CBRNe resilience
EPISOUTH
Network for Communicable Disease Control in Southern Europe and Mediterranean Countries
EPIWORK
Developing the framework for an epidemic forecast infrastructure
EUPHARE
Strengthening of the national surveillance system for communicable diseases
EUROHEP
Surveillance of vaccine preventable hepatitis
EuroMOMO
European monitoring of excess mortality for public health action
EURONHID
European network for highly infectious disease
EUVAC.NET
Dedicated surveillance network for surveillance and control of vaccine preventable diseases in the EU
FLUMODCONT
Modelling the spread of pandemic influenza and strategies for its containment and mitigation
FLURESP
Cost-effectiveness assessment of european influenza human pandemic alert and response strategies
GAP2
Bridging the gap between science, stakeholders and policy makers
HProImmune
Promotion of immunization for health professionals in Europe
INPROFOOD
Towards inclusive research programming for sustainable food innovations
JA-CHRODIS
Addressing chronic diseases and healthy ageing across the life cycle
M-Eco
Medical ecosystem – personalized event-based surveillance
MAPPING
Studying the many and varied economic, social, legal and ethical aspects of the recent developments on the Internet, and their consequences for the individual and society at large
MARINA
Get involved in the responsible marine research and innovation
PACITA
Knowledge-based policy-making on issues involving science, technology and innovation, mainly based upon the practices in Parliamentary Technology Assessment
PANDEM
Assessment of the current pandemic preparedness and response tools, systems and practice at national, EU and global level in priority areas
PE2020
Analysis of innovative public engagement tools and instruments for dynamic governance in the field of Science in Society
PERARES
Public Engagement with Research And Research Engagement with Society
PHEME
Computing Veracity – the Fourth Challenge of Big Data
PREPARE
Providing infrastructure, co-ordination and integration of existing clinical research networks on epidemics and pandemics
PROMOVAX
Promote vaccinations among migrant population in Europe
R&DIALOGUE
Creating mechanisms for effectively tackling the scientific and technology related challenges faced by society
RESPIRE
Improve the quality of indoor air, keeping it free from radon
SATORI
Improving respect of ethics principles and laws in research and innovation, in line with the evolution of technologies and societal concerns
SECURING CITIES AGAINST GLOBAL PANDEMICS
Investigating how cities in the West securitise against global pandemics
SEiSMiC
Creating a structured dialogue and mutual learning with citizens and urban actors by setting up National Networks in 10 countries across Europe
SIS CATALYST
Identifying how children can be change agents in the Science and Society relationship
SYN-ENERGENE
Establishing an open dialogue between stakeholders concerning synthetic biology’s potential benefits and risks
TELLME
Transparent communication in Epidemics: Learning Lessons from experience, delivering effective Messages, providing Evidence