Where is the ‘global’ in the European Union’s Health Research and Innovation Agenda?

Abstract

Global Health has not featured as prominently in the European Union (EU) research agenda in recent years as it did in the first decade of the new millennium, and participation of low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) in EU health research has declined substantially. The Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Framework adopted by the European Parliament in April 2019 for the period 2021–2027 will serve as an important funding instrument for health research, yet the proposed health research budget to be finalised towards the end of 2019 was reduced from 10% in the current framework, Horizon 2020, to 8% in Horizon Europe. Our analysis takes the evolvement of Horizon Europe from the initial framework of June 2018 to the framework agreed on in April 2019 into account. It shows that despite some improvements in terms of Global Health and reference to the Sustainable Development Goals, European industrial competitiveness continues to play a paramount role, with Global Health research needs and relevant health research for LMICs being only partially addressed. We argue that the globally interconnected nature of health and the transdisciplinary nature of health research need to be fully taken into account and acted on in the new European Research and Innovation Framework. A facilitated global research collaboration through Horizon Europe could ensure that Global Health innovations and solutions benefit all parts of the world including EU countries.

Transitioning to Good Health and Well-Being

“…Until the recent past, the European Union for example defined global health mainly in terms of strengthening "global and third countries' national capacities of early prediction, detection and response to global health threats" (European Commission 2010) rather than focusing on cross-border health threats. Germany used its presidencies of the G7 and G20 summits in 2015 and 2017 to give more prominence to global health in supranational political discussion (Berner-Rodoreda et al 2019). However, the focus has been relatively narrow.…”

“…The aim of global health is to overcome the national-international divide and the divide between countries of different income levels through mutual exchange and partnership. This includes joint responsibility, funding, agenda setting, planning, and implementation (Berner-Rodoreda et al 2019;Gautier et al 2018;Koplan et al 2009). This characterisation is at least partly in line with a dialectic approach for defining global health.…”

Promotion of health research in low resourced settings

“…It is generally difficult for LMICs to compete with major international research institutions for international research grants. However major international research funding bodies like Wellcome Trust, National Institutes of Health (NIH USA), Medical Research Council (MRC) and European Union from time-to-time awards research grants aiming for research promotion in LMICs [22,23]. Researchers in LMICs should be constantly looking for such funding opportunities and be prepared to apply whenever such are advertised.…”

Association of Combined Metals and PFAS with Cardiovascular Disease Risk

“…Despite CVD's prevalence and far-reaching implications for healthcare and public health, the focus of clinical guidelines has predominantly revolved around addressing individual behavioral and dietary risk factors associated with CVD [2]. These factors typically include specific food choices, levels of physical activity, and tobacco and alcohol usage [3]. Unfortunately, environmental risk factors have been neglected in public health initiatives to prevent and manage cardiovascular disease [4].…”