The health and well-being of people are central objectives of EU policies and programmes. In the field of social rights, these programmes aim for a fairer, more inclusive and more social Europe for all European citizens, based on a European Social Model for the challenges of the 21st century. Providing timely access to good quality healthcare for all citizens is a key EU objective. This is in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goal, which calls for universal healthcare for all citizens by 2030, so that preventable deaths can be eradicated.
The main challenge is to work on the persistent health inequalities between and within EU countries. There is also the need to respond to the rise in certain types of diseases, such as cancer, non-communicable diseases, mental illness and, not least, infectious diseases. Improving the promotion of disease prevention, including in the area of vaccination, will also be a challenge. Other areas to focus on are: the impact of increasing environmental pollution on human health, growing resistance to antimicrobial drugs, demographic changes, including in the context of an ageing population.
The research and innovation to be supported in Cluster 1 should aim at advancing knowledge, building capacity, developing innovative solutions that improve people's health and well-being and support the transformation of healthcare systems.
On 6 December 2022, the European Commission published the Cluster 1 Health Work Programme for 2023-2024. This document can be found here.
Further information, calls, documents and contacts can be found here.