The actions funded under the EU4Health programme will pursue the following 4 goals and 10 specific objectives:
- To improve and foster health in the Union
- disease prevention & health promotion
- international health initiatives & cooperation
- To tackle cross-border health threats
- prevention, preparedness & response to cross-border health threats
- complementing national stockpiling of essential crisis-relevant products
- establishing a reserve of medical, healthcare & support staff
- To improve medicinal products, medical devices and crisis-relevant products
- making medicinal products, medical devices and crisis-relevant products available and affordable
- To strengthen health systems, their resilience and resource efficiency
- strengthening health data, digital tools & services, digital transformation of healthcare
- improving access to healthcare
- developing and implementing EU health legislation and evidence-based decision making
- integrated work among national health systems
EU4Health will also be investing in urgent health priorities:
- response to COVID-19 pandemic, and resilience for cross-border health threats
- Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan
- the Pharmaceutical Strategy for Europe
Other areas, such as the digitalisation of health systems, antimicrobial resistance, and improved vaccination rates are also receiving funding and attention. Successful initiatives like the European Reference Networks for rare diseases are expanded as well. EU4Health is implemented through annual work programmes. The AWP2021 was adopted in June 2021.