Volume 11 Number 2, 2005 eurohealth What’s in store during the UK presidency of the EU? Priorities for European health research New and emerging infections: the threat to Europe European emergencies: HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis Tackling inequalities in health: the role of Healthy Living Centres eurohealth Partnerships for health: responding LSE Health and Social Care, London School of Economics to the threats of today and tomorrow and Political Science, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE, United Kingdom C tel: +44 (0)20 7955 6840 We are delighted that the Chief Medical Officer for fax: +44 (0)20 7955 6803 England, Professor Sir Liam Donaldson, has set out email: [email protected] the health-related priorities of the UK Presidency in www.lse.ac.uk/collections/LSEHealthAndSocialCare this issue of Eurohealth. Indeed, it is a particularly EDITORIAL interesting period for the EU, with much attention EDITOR: David McDaid: +44 (0)20 7955 6381 O focused on the challenging issue of paediatric email: [email protected] medicines regulation. Moreover, during the lifetime DEPUTY EDITOR: of the UK Presidency, Green Papers are due both on Sherry Merkur: +44 (0)20 7955 6194 email: [email protected] mental health and also on nutrition, physical activity SENIOR EDITORIAL ADVISER: and health Paul Belcher: +44 (0)7970 098 940 M email: [email protected] One key threat faced by our continent is the DESIGN EDITOR: Sarah Moncrieff: +44 (0)20 7834 3444 emergence and re-emergence of infectious diseases. email: [email protected] As Professor Donaldson notes they “cannot always EDITORIAL TEAM: Julian Le Grand, Josep Figueras, Walter Holland be contained within national borders”. Some of the Martin McKee, Elias Mossialos M health emergencies that Europe must face both today SUBSCRIPTIONS and tomorrow are discussed in the issue. Peter Champa Heidbrink: +44 (0)20 7955 6840 Borriello from the Health Protection Agency in email: [email protected] England and Wales draws on the historical ARTICLE SUBMISSION GUIDLINES experiences of the past to highlight ways in which see: www.lse.ac.uk/collections/LSEHealthAndSocialCare/ E new threats may emerge. What is clear is that, both documents/Guidelinestowritinganarticleforeurohealth.htm then and now, the movement of people and goods, Published by LSE Health and Social Care and the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, with the finan- concepts at the very heart of the modern Europe, cial support of Merck & Co and the European Observatory increase the threat of infectious diseases. We live in on Health Systems and Policies. News section compiled by Eurohealth with some additional input from EurohealthNet. an increasingly global village where a product Eurohealth is a quarterly publication that provides a forum packed in one country one day may be on a super- for policy-makers and experts to express their views on health N policy issues and so contribute to a constructive debate on market shelf half way round the world the next. public health policy in Europe. Both pan-European and national responses are The views expressed in Eurohealth are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of LSE Health and Social required to deal with these threats; articles on both Care, EuroHealthNet or the European Observatory on approaches are presented here. Health Systems and Policies. The European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies is a partnership between the WHO Regional Office for Europe, T Health inequalities are one of the key themes (along the Governments of Belgium, Finland, Greece, Norway, with patient safety) of the UK Presidency. Spain and Sweden, the Veneto Region of Italy, the European Investment Bank, the Open Society Institute, the World Bank, Eurohealth also picks up this theme in two articles: the London School of Economics and Political Science and the one reflecting on a relatively novel holistic approach London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. to health promotion in the UK, the ‘Healthy Living Advisory Board Centre Initiative’, while the second article looks at Dr Anders Anell; Professor David Banta; Mr Nick Boyd; Professor Reinhard Busse; Professor Johan Calltorp; approaches to mapping policy responses to health Professor Correia de Campos; Professor Marie Christine Closon; Professor Mia Defever; Dr Giovanni Fattore; inequalities across Europe. Regardless of the future Professor Unto Häkkinen; Professor Chris Ham; Dr Maria political shape of Europe, both today and tomorrow Höfmarcher; Professor David Hunter; Professor Egon Jonsson; Dr Meri Koivusalo; Professor Guillem Lopez- much can be gained through partnerships for health. Casasnovas; Dr Bernard Merkel; Dr Stipe Oreskovic; Dr Alexander Preker; Dr Tessa Richards; Ms Heather Richmond; Professor Richard Saltman; Mr Gisbert Selke; David McDaid Professor Igor Sheiman; Professor Aris Sissouras; Dr Hans Editor Stein; Dr Jeffrey L Sturchio; Professor Miriam Wiley © LSE Health and Social Care 2005. No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or trans- mitted in any form without prior permission from LSE Health and Social Care. Design and Production: Westminster European, email: [email protected] Printing: Optichrome Ltd ISSN 1356-1030 Contents Volume 11 Number 2 UK Presidency 2 What’s in store during the UK presidency of the EU? Professor Sir Liam Donaldson, Chief Medical Officer for England Research priorities 4 What priorities for European health research? Mark McCarthy Infectious diseases 7 New and emerging infections – the threat to Europe Peter Borriello 9 HIV/AIDS at Europe’s eastern edge: economic and demographic challenges for health systems and disenfranchised populations Magdalene Rosenmöller, Thomas E Novotny and Joana Godinho 12 Harm reduction in Moldova: where are we now? Results of a HIV/AIDS behaviour surveillance survey among injecting drug users in Moldova Stela Bivol, Viorel Soltan and Liliana Gherman 16 European emergencies: HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis Gudjon Magnusson Health inequalities 19 Tackling inequalities in health: what role for Healthy Living Centres in the UK? David McDaid, Dione Hills and Shirley Russell 24 National policies to tackle health inequalities in Europe Kasia Jurczak, Caroline Costongs and Helene Reemann Mythbusters 27 “Myth: The ageing population will overwhelm the heathcare system” Monitor 29 Publications 30 Web Watch 31 European Union News by Eurohealth with input from EuroHealthNet Gudjon Magnusson is Director, Contributors to Technical Support, Reducing Disease Burden at the WHO Regional Office for this issue Europe, Copenhagen, Denmark. Stela Bivol is Senior Programme Mark McCarthy is Professor of Public Coordinator, American International Health, University College, London. Health Alliance, Regional Office Russian Federation, Moscow. Peter Borriello is Director, Centre for David McDaid is Research Fellow, Infections, Health Protection Agency, PSSRU, LSE Health and Social Care & London. European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, London School of Economics and Political Science. Caroline Costongs is Programme Thomas E Novotny is Professor in Manager, EuroHealthNet, Brussels, Residence, Department of Epidemiology Belgium. and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA. Liliana Gherman is based at the Soros Helene Reemann is Head of the Foundation, Moldova. International Relations Unit, BZgA (Bundeszentrale fur gesundheitliche aufklarung – Federal Centre for Health Education), Cologne, Germany. Joana Godinho is a Senior Health Magdalene Rosenmöller is Lecturer, Specialist at the World Bank, IESE Business School, Barcelona, Spain. Washington, USA. Dione Hills is Principal Researcher/ Shirley Russell is Researcher/Consultant Consultant at The Tavistock Institute, at The Tavistock Institute, London. London. Kasia Jurczak is Project Officer, Viorel Soltan is based at the American EuroHealthNet, Brussels, Belgium. International Health Alliance, Moldova. 1 eurohealth Vol 11 No 2 UK PRESIDENCY What’s in store during the UK’s presidency of the EU? The UK will hold the Presidency of the to make medicines safer for children Council of the EU from July to December We also expect that, during our Presidency, 2005. In preparing our overall Presidency, the Council will be considering a the UK has worked closely with other Commission Green Paper on Mental countries including Luxembourg (who held Health (due to be published in September) the Presidency from January to June) and and a communication on emergency pre- Austria, who take on the Presidency after paredness and pandemics, and on the UK, to ensure continuity in addressing HIV/AIDS. the key challenges that face Europe today. We are also working closely with the The Commission has also signalled that it Commission, the European Parliament and intends to produce, in the autumn, a Green Chief Medical other Member States. Paper covering nutrition and health. Helping to inform this Green Paper will be Officer for This is an exciting time in health, with the work of the Commission’s Platform for growing awareness that health is not just a England, Action on Diet, Physical Activity and national issue, but also an international Health. The Commission has asked the UK Professor Sir Liam one. Infectious diseases cannot always be to host one of the meetings of this Platform contained within national borders; diseases for Action in September. The main aim of Donaldson, looks at caused by smoking and poor nutrition, for the Platform,