European Public Health Alliance

EPHA submitted a response to the European Commission’s consultation on cardiovascular health checks, as a contribution to a call for evidence on strengthening evidence-based, life-course and equity-focused approaches to cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention and early detection.

After more than a decade, the European Code Against Cancer has been updated and its timing could not be more consequential. With cancer remaining one of Europe’s leading causes of premature mortality, and with preventable risk factors still deeply embedded in our environments, the 5th edition of the European Code Against Cancer (ECAC5) marks a long-overdue shift in how prevention is framed and acted upon.

EPHA has provided detailed feedback to the European Commission’s consultation on the Better Regulation Framework, drawing on its long-standing engagement and its Better Regulations for Better Health Toolkit. EPHA welcomes the Framework’s potential to strengthen evidence-based, transparent, and participatory EU policymaking, while warning that simplification and acceleration must not undermine the quality, independence, and diversity of evidence.

Statement in Defense of Humanitarian Action and Against the Ongoing Genocide in Gaza We, healthcare workers and associations working for peace and in defense of human rights and international law, express our solidarity with Médecins Sans Frontières, Oxfam, and those among the 37 NGOs that Israel has denied permission to operate in Gaza who will refuse to hand over lists of their Palestinian staff to Israeli authorities, deeming it a request incompatible with humanitarian principles and the...

by | November 4, 2025 | Statements EPHA joins over 170 organisations in signing the Healthy Planet Now Open Letter EPHA has joined more than 150 organisations, experts, and activists worldwide in signing the Healthy Planet Now Open Letter, calling for health to be placed at the centre of climate action ahead of COP30.The initiative emphasises that the climate crisis is a health crisis, affecting the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the communities we live in.

by | October 29, 2025 | Statements EPHA delivers joint statement at WHO Europe RC75 At the 75th Session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe on October 28, 2025, EPHA delivered a joint statement on behalf of 18 civil society organisations, welcoming the Second European Programme of Work (EPW2) as a forward-looking and inclusive framework.

by | October 16, 2025 | Newsletters Health Equity Feed | Data for fairer care, inequities across groups, solidarity under strain EPHA’s Health Equity Feed brings you the latest news, events, and research on health equity in Europe and beyond. In October, we cover the growing emphasis on equitable, evidence-based reform, featuring the European Commission’s new report on access to healthcare and WHO’s launch of the Health Inequality Monitoring Network to strengthen global equity data.

Opinion by Siphokazi Matika, Policy Trainee While accessing healthcare can be straightforward for some, for others it is like stepping through a maze of unfamiliar doors, many firmly shut. Despite longstanding policy commitments to universal health coverage, the promise of equal care remains just out of reach for many. A recent study across Germany, Greece, Spain, and France found that 11.6% of adults who needed medical or dental care in 2019 reported unmet needs.

by | September 30, 2025 | Consultation Responses EPHA responds to targeted consultation on EU4Health Work Programme 2026 EPHA has submitted its response to the European Commission’s public consultation on the EU4Health Work Programme 2026. Its design and annual work programmes shape EU action on prevention, crisis preparedness, cancer, digitalisation, and health systems.

by | September 29, 2025 | Statements Food Policy Coalition Urges EU to Place Healthy Diets at the Core of Cardiovascular Health Plan The European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) has joined a coalition of 20 civil society, health, and medical organisations in an open letter to EU Health Commissioner Várhelyi, calling for healthy and affordable diets to be the cornerstone of the upcoming EU Cardiovascular Health Plan.