OEGH Meeting during Swedish Presidency of EU Council
On February 9th, 2023, during the Swedish Presidency, the One Europe for Health (OEGH) coalition participated in a day of hybrid conferences at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm and online. The new EU Commission Global Health Strategy set the scene for the morning meeting within the Nobel Forum, arranged by Karolinska Institutet in dialogue with the Swedish Ministry of Health and Social Affairs and the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs. This meeting offered an opportunity to discuss the EU’s role and reach in Global Health, and hear distinguished guests and experts address the changing role of the EU as a global health actor with the aim to contribute to a European convergence on global health action with the new EU Global Health Strategy as a basis. Emphasis was placed on the importance of having an open and constructive cross-sectoral dialogue between academia, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), policymakers, and other vital stakeholders to reach the Global Health Strategy and ultimately the UN 2030 Agenda.
The Swedish Government representation was led by Jakob Forssmed, Minister for Social Affairs and Public Health. Two high level representatives of the European Commission, Gabriella Fésus, Head of Unit, DG International Partnerships, and Francisco Pérez Cañado, Adviser to the Director General on the External Dimension of Health, DG SANTE, were present to offer insight on European objectives, while being available for informal exchanges.
In the afternoon, a conference and round table were co-organized with the OEGH coalition in view of proposing the essence of the Stockholm Amendment of the One Europe for Global Health Declaration. A note describing the essence of meetings has been accepted for publication in the British Medical Journal (BMJ).