74th WHO Regional Committee for Europe: Framework for resilient and sustainable health systems in the WHO European Region

On 31 October 2024 in Copenhagen, Denmark, IFPMA and EFPIA delivered a statement at the 74th Regional Committee for Europe on the framework for resilient and sustainable health systems in the WHO European Region.

This statement is delivered on behalf of IFPMA and its European member organization EFPIA. We welcome the proposed framework on resilient and sustainable health systems and support the overall vision that everyone should receive the right care, at the right time, in the right place, from the right person, without experiencing financial hardship.

We support the focus on advancing primary healthcare and would like to emphasize its key role in early detection and diagnosis. These are crucial for avoiding serious health complications for patients and unnecessary costs for health systems.

Regarding health information systems, we would like to emphasize the role of robust data on the economic and societal burden of disease and impact of health interventions to evidence the return on investment on different public health and healthcare interventions. Furthermore, standardized measurement of patient-relevant health outcomes across diseases and conditions would enable benchmarking and identification of best practice and drive healthcare quality improvement.

Further work on health financing is crucial, to ensure improved access to innovative medicines and avoid financial hardship for patients. Assessing the total net cost of pharmaceuticals and other expenditure segments is important in this regard to ensure evidence-based policy making.

As regards health system resilience and preparedness for future shocks, the role of innovation should be further highlighted. The COVID-19 pandemic was ultimately managed through rapid development and deployment of innovative vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics, and the importance of maintaining a vital innovation eco-system in Europe can therefore not be underestimated. Finally, and with this in mind, we would like to highlight the importance of dialogue and collaboration between the public and private sector, based on trust and recognition of the value different partners and stakeholders bring to resilient and sustainable health systems.