Grzegorz Cessak
Communication of the President of the Office of 22.03.2023 on the signing on 15.03.2023 of an agreement between HERA and the ECDC as well as the EMA on strengthening cooperation on health emergency preparedness and response.
The Commission's Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), as well as HERA and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) have agreed to strengthen cooperation and to coordinate their work in support of health emergency preparedness and response in the area of medical countermeasures.
The agreed working arrangements will help ensure that there are no unnecessary overlaps and that resources are used more efficiently.
HERA and ECDC identified the following areas of collaboration:
- Intelligence gathering and assessment of health threats relevant to medical countermeasures
- Modelling, forecasts and foresight activities relevant to medical countermeasures
- Promoting advanced research and development of medical countermeasures and related technologies
- Strengthening knowledge in preparedness and response related to medical countermeasures
- Contribution to reinforcing the global health emergency preparedness and response architecture.
HERA and EMA identified the following areas of collaboration:
- Assessment of serious cross-border threats to health relevant to medical countermeasures
- Identification of medical countermeasures and priority research areas
- Identification of vulnerabilities and strategic dependencies within the Union related to the development, production, procurement, stockpiling and distribution of medical countermeasures
- Coordination, in relation to medical countermeasures, in the event of recognition of a public health emergency
- Contribution to reinforcing the global health emergency preparedness and response architecture.
DG SANTE, as the partner DG for ECDC and for EMA, and co-signatory of the Working arrangements, will be kept informed of all relevant activities carried out under these working arrangements that fall under DG SANTE mandate.
The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated how essential it was for all key players to work together, fast, to prepare and respond to the ongoing threat. Now through the creation of HERA, a crucial centrepiece of a strong European Health Union, all Sides, through the Working arrangements, will ensure the exchange of information on threat assessment, advanced research & development and other priorities relevant for medical countermeasures.
More information available on the website: https://health.ec.europa.eu/latest-updates/hera-signs-agreement-ecdc-and-ema-strengthen-cooperation-health-emergency-preparedness-and-response-2023-03-14_en