The event organized last 28 of February by Active Citizenship Network at the EU Parliament took place in a very favorable European context for vaccination: the European Commission on-going public consultation on strengthening the cooperation against vaccine preventable diseases and the motion for resolution on vaccine hesitancy in the European Parliament.
The event hosted a  well-attended panel discussion that brought together MEPs, the Deputy Director General DG SANTE, the European Health Parliament, WHO Europe, leading national public health and vaccinology experts (from Ireland and Italy), NGOs and patients’ organisations.

A strong engagement by all stakeholders to tackle issue of low vaccination coverage and equity in access to vaccination was demonstrated.  Read more

All the presentations and materials of the event realized last 28th February are ready for the download.
To see the pictures visit our FB page, to know more about the initiative click here.
Download Speakers ‘biographies and the factsheet on vaccines.
Download the key notes from the event,  kindly offer by Acumen Public Affairs.

Martin Seychell, Deputy Director-General for Health and Food Safety, with Mariano Votta, Director Active Citizenship Network

Paolo Bonanni
He is graduated in Medicine and Surgery (MD) in 1985 and got two specializations in Hygiene and Preventive Medicine. Since 2000 he is Full Professor of Hygiene in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Florence, Italy. He has been a member of the National Vaccination Commission of the Italian Ministry of Health, and he acts as an expert consultant for the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). He is also member of the European Technical Advisory Group of Experts (ETAGE) at the World Health Organization, on vaccine-related scientific and technical issues. Download the presentation.

MEP David Borrelli
He is member of the Non-attached Members Group in the European Parliament.
He is member of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE), Committee on International Trade (INTA), Delegations for the relations with the Mashreq Countries, South Africa and Delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean.

Michele Calabrò
Michele Calabro’ is Policy and Communications Manager at the European Health Management Association and Member of Vaccines Committee of the European Health Parliament, a platform of 55 young professionals and students with the goal of shaping the future of healthcare in Europe. At EHMA, he coordinates communication and outreach of the Association, alongside EHMA’s dissemination and stakeholder engagement activities for EU funded projects and EHMA’s Special Interest Groups’ programme. Download the presentation.

Claudio Cricelli
He is a GP in practice since 1975 and Professor of General Practice in the Public Health School Policlinico Gemelli – Sacro Cuore Catholic University of Rome. Since 1998 is the Chairman of the Italian College of General Practioners SIMG and Head of Simg Delegation to the Italian Agency for Medicines. Chairman of the Center for Health Technology Assessment in Florence and since 1992 of the European School for general Practice. Past President – UEMO  European Union of General Practioners. Download the presentation.

Nedret Emiroglu
As  the  Director  of  Programme  Management  Dr Emiroglu is the   principal   adviser   to the WHO Regional Office for Europe on health policies, strategies and technical priorities. As  the  Director  of  the   Division   of   Health   Emergencies   and   Communicable   Diseases, she leads divisional efforts to support Member States prepare for, rapidly detect and respond to health emergencies and outbreaks in the WHO European Region, as well as prevent and control communicable diseases including immunization. Download the presentation.

Antonio Gaudioso
He is currently General Secretary of Cittadinanzattiva, an Italian civic organization that promotes civic participation and protects citizens’ rights. After his graduation in Political Science and International Relationship at the University of Macerata he got a Certificate in HTA from the London School of Economics. Currently, he is also Vice President of Active Citizenship Foundation, senior consultant for CSR and sustainability at World Bank, member of Committee on biotechnology and bio safety of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers.

Maurice Kelly
He is responsible for all communications in relation to public health, emergency management and quality improvement within the Irish health services.   He has extensive communications experience in relation to communicable diseases having worked for a decade in Ireland’s specialist communicable disease agency – HPSC.  He holds a first class master degree in public relations. Download the presentation.

MEP Katerina Konecna
The Environmental Protection Policy brought her to solving problems with Šumava National Park and also with the Waste Act. She also led the list of Communist candidates in the elections to the European Parliament in May 2014. Now, as a member of the European Parliament and the ENVI coordinator, she  continues to engage in the Environmental Protection Policy and Public Health Policy as a member of the ENVI Committee. During time she is MEP she is also focusing on the topic of the Access to Healthcare and she is dealing with public health issues. Download the presentation.

Charles Howard
He is the Head of Research at ThinkYoung, a Brussels and Hong Kong based think tank focused on youth research. In this capacity Charles manages all research projects on youth rights and youth engagement. This includes a focus on youth employment and education, online civil liberties, children’s rights and international development, and health policy. Download the presentation.

MEP Giovanni La Via
Member of the European Parliament since 2009. Since July 2014, he serves as Chairman of the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) of the European Parliament. He has served as Regional Minister for Agriculture and Forest in Sicily (2006-2009). He is full Professor at the University of Catania.

Martin Seychell
Graduated in chemistry and pharmaceutical technology, he specialized in Chemical analysis. He has held important positions on several government boards and commissions in Malta. He has been responsible for the implementation of a number of EU directives in the areas of risk assessment, food safety, chemicals and cosmetic products legislation. He was appointed Deputy Director General for Health and Consumers at the European Commission in March 2011.

Mariano Votta
Public affairs professional and journalist, is the Director of Active Citizenship Network (CAN), the international branch of the Italian NGO Cittadinanzattiva, where he is responsible for European Affairs. Since 2013, he has been actively involved as ACN stepped up its advocacy activities at the European Institutions, which in 2015 led to the opening of a representative office in Brussels and – above all – to the launch of the MEP Interest Group “European Patients’ Rights & Cross-Border Healthcare”, promoted with the endorsement of almost 100 organizations across Europe. Download the presentation

Suzanne Wait
She is Managing Director at The Health Policy Partnership a London-based health policy research consultancy. Suzanne has worked on a wide range of topics, including most recently life-course approaches to vaccination, viral hepatitis, oncology, and mental health. She has helped run a number of multi-stakeholder policy initiatives, working closely with leading patient advocates, civic society, healthcare professionals and policymakers. Download the presentation

The event “The challenges of life-course vaccination to enhance public health protection in Europe: a multi-stakeholder approach” has been realized thanks to the support of

EU: Public Consultation on “Strengthened cooperation against vaccine preventable diseases”
All citizens, administrations, associations and other organisations with an interest in vaccination and health policy are welcome to contribute to this consultation promoted by EU Commission DG Santé. Deadline 15 March 2018. Read more

Europe observes a 4-fold increase in measles cases in 2017 compared to previous year
Measles has rebounded in the WHO European Region. The disease affected 21 315 people and caused 35 deaths in 2017, following a record low of 5273 cases in 2016. The WHO Regional Office for Europe has released new data for 2017 one day ahead of a health ministerial meeting on immunization in Montenegro on 20 February 2018. Read more

EU: Monthly measles and rubella monitoring report
European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) reports on measles and rubella surveillance data submitted by 30 EU/EEA countries on a monthly basis. This report is based on data reported to the European Surveillance System (TESSy) for 1 February 2017 to 31 January 2018. ECDC also monitors European measles outbreaks through epidemic intelligence and publishes the most recent updates monthly in the Communicable Disease Threats Report (CDTR). Download the document

Italy: Published the first instant book on vaccines
To respond to the thousands of questions that ordinary people ask about vaccines and to debunk some dangerous false myths, the Italian Society of General Practice and Primary Care (SIMG) has created, in collaboration with Cittadinanzattiva, the "Questions and Answers on the Vaccines" instant book, presented in March 2017 at the Italian Health Institute. Read more (IT language), to download the instant book  click here

Italy: Position paper on vaccination by Cittadinanzattiva
After the innovations introduced in Italy by the Decree of 7 June 2017, n. 73, Cittadinanzattiva publishes its position paper on the subject. The aspects of compulsory vaccinations, emergency management and health planning are dealt with, as well as aspects of social protection linked to the school environment, work in the health sector and beyond.Download Position Paper

More information
The objectives of the joint action on vaccination (start 2018), co-funded by the Health Programme
The final report of the SANTE high level workshop "Seeking new partnerships for EU action on vaccination" (May 2017)
The mid-term review of the Digital single Market (potential of big data high performance computing for infectious diseases outbreaks, May 2017)
The public consultation on a roadmap for a 'Commission communication on a One Health action plan to support Member States in the fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR)', published on October 2016
The European Court of Auditors Special report 28/2016 Dealing with serious cross-border threats to health in the EU (2016)
The report on the implementation of Decision 1082/2013 on serious cross-border threats to health (2015)
The report of the high-level hearing on the implementation of the Council recommendation on seasonal influenza vaccination (2015)

24-30 April 2018: World Immunization Week: Protected Together, #VaccinesWork
World Immunization Week – celebrated from 24-30 April 2018 – aims to highlight the collective action needed to ensure that every person is protected from vaccine-preventable diseases. This year’s theme: “Protected Together, #VaccinesWork”, encourages people at every level – from donors to the general public – to go further in their efforts to increase immunization coverage for the greater good. Read more