Belgium, (Brussels Morning Newspaper) EC and US officials discussed health cooperation in Washington DC, focusing on global cooperation and response, among other.
Stella Kyriakides, European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, and Xavier Becerra, US Secretary of Health and Human Services, reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen cooperation, the Commission noted in a statement on Thursday.
The two officials stressed the importance of preparing for and responding to global pandemics, pointing out that it requires international cooperation.
They stated that “strong research and manufacturing ties between the EU and the US have contributed to the successful deployment of COVID-19 vaccines worldwide.”
More effective vaccines
Kyriakides and Becerra expressed preparedness to continue cooperating on development of new and more effective vaccines, adding that the US and the EC are prepared to “engage with developers of such promising new vaccines and to work with partners to facilitate their development.”
The officials discussed the US Cancer Moonshot initiative and the EU’s Beating Cancer Plan with the aim of strengthening cooperation and support for the initiatives.
The EC pointed out that “both sides emphasised the shared priority of improved cancer prevention, detection and care, and welcomed the renewed discussion on research and innovation in the EU and the US.”
Kyriakides and Becerra also announced plans to strengthen exchange of health information while respecting rules on data protection.
Commenting on the conflict in Ukraine, both expressed their support for Ukrainian patients and pointed out that many need urgent treatment.
The Commission stressed that the two officials “reconfirmed their cooperation in the context of the ongoing work to negotiate a new instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, the reform of the International Health Regulations (IHRs) as well as the reform and strengthening of the [World Health Organization] WHO.”
They expressed belief that the Financial Intermediary Fund for pandemic preparedness and global health security established last month will contribute to these efforts.The Commission concluded that Kyriakides and Becerra “underlined their joint commitment towards a common leadership in ensuring global health security and fostering equitable access to vaccines for low and middle-income countries, building on the experience gained from the ACT-Accelerator and its COVAX pillar.”
