EU Global Health Strategy.

The EU Global Health Strategy aims to provide a new, coherent, effective and focused policy worldwide. The EU intends to reassert its responsibility and deepen its leadership in the interest of the highest attainable standards of health by addressing global health security in line with the universal health targets enshrined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Goals. The strategy offers an agenda leading up to 2030. It sets three policy priorities and provides for twenty guiding principles to shape global health. Three core priorities are: (I) investing in the well-being and better health of all people across the life course, (II) reaching universal health coverage with stronger health systems, (III) preventing and combatting current and future health threats including pandemics, applying a One Health approach.
The strategy prioritizes addressing the economic, social and environmental root causes of health and diseases, such as poverty, social inequalities, water, sanitation and hygiene, climate change, environmental degradation, humanitarian crises, food insecurity, and antimicrobial resistance. An approach based on human rights leaving no one behind will be maintained throughout the implementation of this strategy, paying particular attention to the needs and the rights of women, children and young people, and to vulnerable populations and disadvantaged groups.
The strategy lays down guiding principles to achieve effective, resilient and accessible health systems in all their fundamental aspects, as follows: (i) the importance of available medical capacity as highlighted by COVID-19, (ii) the improvement of health systems and public health as a core aspect of international cooperation, (iii) digital transformation for global health to increase the potential of health data worldwide and foster the use of new technologies, (iv) research action for global health to develop the technologies and countermeasures which are necessary to improve health, and (v) health workforce action to address workforce imbalances and foster skills.
One health approach will be implemented to prevent and combat health threats, including pandemics, and to tackle the complex interconnection between humanity, climate, environment and animals. The EU will intensify work with World Health Organization WHO, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to implement its One Health Joint Plan of Action. The strategy will continue to tackle the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath and build on lessons learned, in order to ensure global health security. It stresses on prevention, preparedness and response and early detection of health threats globally to better prevent and be more resilient to face pandemics and to ensure high-quality risk-preparedness in the health sector. The EU will continue to focus on improving biosafety and biosecurity measures in relevant institutions, and on increasing public awareness and training staff. The strategy supports the development of and access to innovative medical countermeasures to address antimicrobial resistance.
Global governance will require a new focus to maintain a strong and responsive multilateral system, with a World Health Organization (WHO) at its core. The EU will link effectively all policies and measures that have an impact on global health, such as: global climate neutrality by 2050; global action to tackle biodiversity loss, wildlife trafficking, air, water and soil pollution; effective health and safety standards worldwide; humanitarian assistance and support to regions and populations most affected by food insecurity and high incidence of malnutrition; humanitarian assistance and civil protection operations related to global health in emergency and crisis settings; finance; and international trade.