European Health Forum Gastein 2018 announces its programme – bold political choices for health
Date
05 Jul 2018
Links
Sections
Health & Consumers
- European Health Forum Gastein’s (3-5 October 2018) detailed programme is available online.
- Programme sessions cover four tracks: Innovation for All, Sustainable Systems, Evidence for Action and No-one left behind
- Key speakers include Health ministers from Estonia, Finland and Malta, Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO Regional Director for Europe, Svetlana Axelrod, WHO Assistant Director General.
Media accreditation is open via the online form. Interested in in finding out more about the EHFG? Contact the press office at press@ehfg.org or +32 2 321 90 16.
5 July 2018, Bad Hofgastein, Austria – The European Health Forum Gastein (EHFG) is launching the detailed programme for this year’s event focusing on the theme “Health and Sustainable Development – Bold political choices for Agenda 2030”. The conference takes place at an eventful time for health in Europe ahead of the European elections and institution change-over. While the anniversaries of the World Health Organization (WHO) and many key milestones for health such as the Tallinn Charter, Alma-Ata, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights exhibit past achievements, a bold agenda and political commitment for European health is needed today.
The EHFG provides a platform for over 500 experts from science, civil society, the public and private sector to reflect on challenges ahead, discuss in a unique, collaborative environment and develop future-proof solutions. The aim is to challenge participants and session partners to explore how all can contribute to reaching the SDG targets, safeguarding health and advancing sustainable development.
High-level speakers at the EHFG 2018 include the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health in Malta, Christopher Fearne; Riina Sikkut, Minister of Health and Labour in Estonia; Pirkko Mattila, Minister of Social Affairs and Health in Finland; Svetlana Axelrod, Assistant Director General WHO; Zsuzsanna Jakab, Regional Director for Europe WHO; Martti Hetemäki, Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Finance in Finland; Wilhelm Molterer, Managing Director at the European Fund for Strategic Investment; Bronwyn King, CEO of Tobacco Free Portfolios; Filippo Addarii, Founder and Co-Managing Director at PlusValue and Jan Kimpen, President of COCIR and Chief Medical Officer at Philips.
The opening plenary will set the scene by exploring what needs to be done in Europe to safeguard health and highlight the action Europe needs to take to contribute to reaching the SDGs. The two additional plenary sessions will cover investment in health and the need to change the mindsets of government spending as well as the balance between financial and health interests.
Numerous fora and workshops are organised to elaborate on specific challenges along four different tracks: Innovation for All, Sustainable Systems, Evidence for Action and No-one left behind. The Innovation for All track addresses issues around digitalisation in health care, artificial intelligence, innovative medicines and health literacy. The track on Sustainable Systems covers topics ranging from primary care to public health priorities and ethical considerations. No-one left behind sessions focus on access to vaccines, access to medicines and health equality. Finally, the Evidence for Action track will discuss the value of evidence in healthcare, the lack of data in certain disease areas and the perspective on health as an investment good.
About European Health Forum Gastein
The European Health Forum Gastein (EHFG) was founded in 1998 as a European health policy conference. It aims to provide a platform for all stakeholders from the fields of public health and healthcare, and beyond. Over the past decade, the EHFG has established itself as an indispensable institution in the scope of European health policy. It has made a decisive contribution to the development of guidelines and above all the cross-border exchange of experience, information and cooperation. Leading experts participate in the annual conference held in the Gastein Valley in the Austrian Alps for three days in October.