COVID-19 has exacerbated many of the existing, underlying problems of healthcare systems. At the same time, it has highlighted the devastating impact that serious public health threats can have on both the health and wellbeing of our citizens as well as on our economies. The current crisis has clearly demonstrated how healthy populations and economic growth are interdependent and mutually reinforcing.

This public health crisis has also shown us the importance of cooperation among sectors and actors in ensuring our healthcare systems work to their optimum ability in preventing premature deaths and protecting citizens. Building on the concrete recommendations that 34 organisations across the health community put together in late 2018, this second edition of the EU Health Summit seeks to translate the lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic into a political vision capable of maximising collaboration and ensuring a healthy and equitable future for everyone in Europe.

Health now tops the European political agenda, as demonstrated by the proposed stand-alone EU4Health programme with an ambitious budget of 9.4 billion Euros. We must not lose this momentum.

Join us and contribute to the design of the future vision of health in Europe!