EFPIA is delighted to be a co-organizer of the 2015 Riga Health Conference held under the auspices of the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The main aim of the conference, which will be held from 29-30 June 2015, in Riga, Latvia, will be to identify strategies to harness the input of citizens to create efficient and equitable European health systems.

EFPIA, together with co-organisers, including the European Patient’s Forum (EPF), the European Generic medicines Association (EGA) and the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA), is committed to building on the momentum, success and outcomes offered by the Vilnius Declaration, which emerged from the Health Summit organised by the Lithuanian Presidency in 2013. This sought to identify the existing best evidence on fostering the development of sustainable health systems throughout Europe. 

The 2015 Riga Health Conference will call for immediate action in the following areas:

• investing in cost-effective health promotion and disease prevention;
• ensuring universal access to high quality people-centred health services; and
• ensuring that health system reforms are evidence-based and grounded in common European values of solidarity, high quality and equity of access, while focusing on cost-effectiveness, sustainability and good governance.

Some 200 participants are expected to attend the “invitation-only” conference, including speakers and guests from the European Commission, World Health Organization, European Union Member States, as well as those coming from various governmental and non-governmental organizations.

EFPIA Director General Richard Bergström commented: “In 2013, several leading health organisations came together under the umbrella of the Lithuanian Presidency for a highly successful conference that resulted in the 2013 Vilnius Declaration, calling for immediate action in several areas. One and a half years after the event, it remains important to seize the political momentum and to build on actions proposed in the Vilnius Declaration. EFPIA is very happy that Commissioner Andriukaitis will be attending the Riga Conference, after he had the conviction to support the organisation of the Vilnius Conference during the Lithuanian Presidency in 2013.”

EFPIA's Director of European Affairs, Elizabeth Kuiper, said: EFPIA is very grateful to the Latvian Presidency for its commitment to the organisation of the Riga Conference. This shows that it understands the need for a long-term political agenda regarding healthcare systems and sustainable outcomes, supported by a variety of stakeholders. The desired outcome of the Riga Conference will be a Road Map with an agenda for the next few years, supported not only by the incoming Presidencies, but also by the European institutions, the WHO, patient organisations and several important stakeholders.”