EPHA conference on children’s health and well-being On the 4th of December the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) held a seminar at the European Parliament “From rhetoric to action – Tackling child poverty and promoting children’s health and well-being in the EU.” EFA was represented by Roberta Savli, EU Policy and Project Officer. Several policy makers discussed the topic from a multi-sectoral point of view, acknowledging the need to tackle the social, health, and regional inequalities that endanger children in the EU. The Commission is drafting recommendations on the issue that could be of interest to EFA and its planned future project on asthma and allergy in children. Watch out for more on our website and in future ezines. ERS dinner and quiz evening On the 4th of December the European Respiratory Society (ERS) held a dinner and quiz evening at the European Parliament. EFA was represented by Roberta Savli, our President Breda Flood and Pim de Boer from the Netherlands. The latest scientific evidence on lung health and why it matters were presented & quizzed. EMA Patients and Consumers’ Training On the 29th of November the European Medicines Agency (EMA) held its annual training for patients’ and consumers’ organisations. This year, the training was based entirely on the new EU pharmacovigilance legislation (which entered into force in July 2012) with a special focus on the way patients may be involved. The training is part of the general strategy EMA is developing to empower patients and to enhance their participation in its activities. EFA was represented by Roberta Savli and Michael Wilken, EFA member and COPD patient advisor. The following day, a meeting with all the eligible patients’ and consumers’ organisations was held. EFA was represented by Roberta Savli and our Board member Lina Buzermaniene, EFA representative in the Patients’ and Consumers’ Working Party (PCWP). The new conflict of interest’s strategy of the Agency for organisations and patients’ representatives was discussed in detail, together with the involvement of patients in IMI projects (with a special focus on EUPATI). EMA reviewed the activities of patient organisations with EMA and introduced a training strategy which aims to enable patients to become more involved in EMA activities. Indoor Air Quality Experts Group meeting minutes available The minutes of the meeting of the European Commission’s DG SANCO (Health and Consumers) Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Experts Group, which took place on the 22nd of October, are now published and available here. EFA was represented by Roberta Savli. For more information, see the article in our October newsletter. Forum on European health innovation On the 4th of December Susanna Palkonen attended, on behalf of the European Patients’ Forum (EPF), a forum organised by Microsoft Europe entitled ‘Innovating for Better Health: Doing New with Less’, which discussed the benefits and limitations of using ICT in healthcare. The event gathered a wide-range of stakeholders including e-health innovators, policy-makers and patient representatives. Susanna spoke briefly on the questions to IT developers from patients perspective following the ‘technology showcase session’ at the beginning of the event, which featured demonstrations of the latest e-health solutions and Apps developed by innovators across Europe. More information Agenda EFA in other meetings EFA President Breda Flood attended the meeting of the Steering Group of the European Commission’s Ex Smokers are Unstoppable Campaign. On the 11th of December Susanna Palkonen attended THINK TANK with patient groups of the EFPIA European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations. There was a dialogue about the various perspectives of the industry and patient groups on the EU Clinical Trials Directive and Transparency Directive proposals and an exchange of views of the shortcomings of the medicines package leaflets and their summaries of product characteristics. The European Commission is going to publish a report on this 2013 in view of making the product information more useful and understandable for patients.