10.E. Round table: Investing in prevention, preparedness and response: strengthening EU/EEA health crisis planning

Investing in prevention, preparedness and response (PPR) planning for health crises is crucial for safeguarding health, wellbeing and societal resilience. PPR plans are essential for guiding coordinated public health action. With several concurrent and evolving global threats and megatrends, health systems need to continuously test and adapt their plans. The Regulation (EU) 2022/2371 on serious cross-border threats to health addresses the early lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic. PPR planning for all public health hazards is a key element in the Regulation addressed through reporting, assessment, and exchange of experiences. The Regulation also introduced the Union PPR plan for health to promote coordinated and effective EU-level response. The workshop aims at strengthening PPR planning for health crises in the EU/EEA by framing planning as an investment. By bringing together academia and policy makers, the workshop will raise awareness on the planning framework in the EU/EEA, enable learning from good practices and contribute to the implementation of the Regulation (EU) 2022/2371. The workshop invites leading experts to give pitch talks on key areas of PPR planning: strategic foresight, capacity planning, exercising, and assessment. These will lead to a moderated panel discussion on the strengths, gaps and next steps to build a strong and coherent planning framework in the EU/EEA. The audience will engage through interactive polls and questions and answers to the panelists. Key messages • A strong and coherent framework for evidence-informed prevention, preparedness and response planning for health crises supports effective and coordinated public health action in the EU. • Investments in capacities for prevention, preparedness and response planning are necessary to ensure evidence-informed, impactful, cost-effective and fair decision-making during health crises. Speakers/Panellists Lea Schuh Joint Research Centre - European Commission, Ispra, Italy Berta Suárez Rodríguez Ministry of Health, Madrid, Spain Andras Armväärt Health Board, Tallinn, Estonia Agoritsa Baka ECDC, Solna, Sweden