New PHSSR report with the participation of Biosistemak: prioritising health for a stronger Europe
The Institute’s director contributes to the paper, which urges the EU and member states to put health at the centre of investment and development policies.
Biosistemak, through its director Ane Fullaondo, has actively participated in the drafting of the new report of the EU Expert Advisory Group of the Partnership for Health System Sustainability and Resilience (PHSSR): “Investing in Health for a Competitive, Safe and Resilient Europe: a strategic call to action”.
Europe is at a crossroads. The consequences of the pandemic, inflationary pressure, geopolitical changes and demographic challenges have highlighted the urgency of strengthening Europe’s health systems. The PHSSR stresses that health sustainability is not just a sectoral issue, but a strategic imperative for Europe’s competitiveness, social cohesion and autonomy.
The paper warns that failure to act now will put at risk not only the health of Europe’s population, but also the continent’s productivity, sustainability and geopolitical relevance.
Health: strategic investment, not expenditure
The report, the result of months of collaborative work by European experts, sends a clear message: investing in health generates economic and social returns far greater than its cost. For every euro invested in prevention and early diagnosis of diseases, the return can be multiplied almost fivefold.
Health should be seen as a strategic asset that drives productivity, innovation and responsiveness to crises, not as a budgetary burden.
The EU Expert Advisory Group, in which our director participates, proposes three main lines of action:
- Prioritise health in EU and Member States’ strategic investment plans.
- Ensure long-term, dedicated health funding in the next EU Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) .
- Integrate health into broader policy agendas, including competitiveness, innovation, advocacy and climate change preparedness.
These recommendations aim to ensure strong, resilient health systems that are able to meet both current and future challenges.
The PHSSR has been presented in the context of the annual EU budget conference and will be disseminated to policy makers, journalists and key industry associations. In the coming months, a roundtable is planned to be organised in Brussels to discuss the findings and take forward the implementation of the recommendations.
Read the full report here.
