Babies and Children

Babies and children are a special case when it comes to health issues and cannot simply be treated as "mini-adults". They are more vulnerable and it is particularly important that they are protected and provided with the best possible physical and social environment.

EU activities aim to contribute to the health of babies and children either directly or by supporting actions taken by national and local governments, health and education systems and families and include:

• activities on the rights of the child, combating violence and abuse of children
• supporting the work life balance of parents
• protecting pregnant and breastfeeding women in the workplace
• protecting young children from the adverse effects of smoking, alcohol and drugs
• promoting specific medicines for children
• working on immunisation and the monitoring of communicable diseases
• promoting better nutrition and mental health
• preventing accidents and injuries in this age group
• standardisation of safety measures and laws across the EU - especially concerning food, toys and products intended for children

Links to the EU activities

Public health
- Perinatal health
  The EU project to develop indicators for evaluating and monitoring perinatal health in Europe
- Nutrition and physical activity
  EU policy and initiatives to promote a healthy diet and physical activity
- Children's Environment and Health Action Plan
  EU cooperation with the WHO addressing environmental risk factors most affecting children's health in Europe

Diseases
- Major and chronic diseases
  Major chronic diseases in the EU affecting children (asthma, oral health, etc.)

Food safety
- Foods for infants & young children
  EU legislation on the composition and labelling of foods intended specifically for infants or young children

Product safety
- Safety of consumer products
  Sectoral legislation regulating product safety
- Toy sector
  EU policy relating to the toy sector

Medicines and treatment
- Medicinal products for paediatric use
  The EU approach to improving child health by promoting the research, development and authorisation of medicines to treat children
- The European Paediatric Initiative
  EU initiatives and activities promoting studies to obtain paediatric information on medicines used in children
- Fighting HIV, malaria and tuberculosis
  Research initiatives to develop new drugs and vaccines for tackling HIV, malaria and tubercolosis
- Improving health in developing countries
  Development of integrated programmes and cooperation to tackle poverty-related diseases

EC Health Indicators
- Infant mortality
  Figures for deaths of children under one year old in relation to live births
- Vaccination coverage in children
  The percentage of infants reaching their first birthday who have been fully vaccinated against diphtheria
- Perinatal mortality
  Data on perinatal mortality (foetal deaths and early neonatal mortality)
- Crude birth rate
  Data on the number of events (births or deaths) to the mean of the population in a given year
- Low birth weight
  Data on low birth weight distributions

European Health Information
- Breast feeding
  Data on breast feeding presented in tables, figures and/or maps
- Infant mortality
  Data presentation on Infant mortality in Tables, figures and maps.
- Childhood vaccinations
  Figures, underlying data and maps
- Crude birth rate
  Comparison of the crude birth rates of European countries
- Fertility rate
  Comparison of the total fertility rates of European countries and the trends in fertility rates across Europe

Research
- Children's health and the environment
  EU research initiatives to limit childhood exposure to environmental hazards
- Food, nutrition and health
  EU research initiatives to provide a healthy, safe and high quality food supply

European Commission
Health-EU. The Public Health Portal of the European Union

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