Intern News

EU4Health Webinar

On 22 January, three of the EPSA Interns - Jess, Josef and Andreea - attended an online event on the EU4Health Programme in participation with their internships. This webinar was hosted by European Commission’s DG SANTE. The webinar explained the EU4Health Programme’s objectives, highlighted possible actions and also mentioned funding opportunities until 2027. Participants were also able to provide input on health issues in the EU and how the EU can address them.

Sandra Gallina, Director General of DG SANTE, noted that although it was a pandemic that put health at the forefront of the EU agenda, the health program isn’t just a response to the coronavirus.

There were three breakout sessions attended on Public Health, Medicines, vaccines and medical devices and Health systems. Stefan Schreck, DG SANTE, led the discussion on public health, highlighting the importance of tackling non-communicable diseases. The main topics discussed included mental health, cancer, antimicrobial resistance and member state collaboration for implementing policies and best practices.

This was an important event for EPSA because it emphasised our interest in the EU Health Agenda and improved EPSA’s recognition by DG SANTE with our attendance and tweets on the topic. - Jess McNamara, Vice President of European Affairs

International Childhood Cancer Awareness Day & ACCELERATE Paediatric Oncology Conference

current challenges within the field. One of the important milestones achieved by the European Commission this year was the release of the long-awaited Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan which tackles the entire disease pathway - from prevention to quality of life - of cancer patients and survivors. In the light of this important step, as well as to mark World Cancer Day, two events were organised at the beginning of February.

The first one was the International Childhood Cancer Awareness Day Webinar organised by SIOPE (the European Society for Paediatric Oncology). Representatives from the European Parliament, European Commission, Industry and patient advocates presented the latest updates within the paediatric oncology field, current challenges and ways to address the unmet medical needs.

The second event was the ACCELERATE Paediatric Oncology Conference where the most important topics tackled were the access to medicines and the recent developments in the regulatory environment. More breakout sessions were organised where participants had the chance to discuss

Both events represented a great opportunity to get new insights about the access to medicines and the regulatory framework of the paediatric oncology landscape from dedicated Professionals and Stakeholders. Moreover, it was a great chance to showcase young pharmacists’ interest in the oncology field and to interact with various important Stakeholders during breakout sessions and via Twitter. - Andreea Iordache, Educational Affairs Coordinator