The Second Programme of Community Action in the Field of Health 2008-2013 came into force on 1 January 2008. This follows the first Programme of Community action in the field of public health (2003-2008) which financed over 300 projects and other actions.

The Health Programme 2008-2013 is intended to complement, support and add value to the policies of the Member States and contribute to increased solidarity and prosperity in the European Union by protecting and promoting human health and safety and by improving public health.

Under the new Programme, participation and consultation with stakeholders are promoted.

The financial envelope for the programme is EUR: 321 500 000. The Programme is implemented by means of annual work plans which set out priority areas and the funding criteria. The Work Plan for 2009 is expected to be published at the end of February 2009.

Text of Health Programme 2008-2013

Health programme - Factsheet

Health programme - Booklet


Programme Objectives

To improve citizens' health security:

• Developing EU and Member States' capacity to respond to health threats, for example with health emergency planning and preparedness measures;
• Actions related to patient safety, injuries and accidents, risk assessment and community legislation on blood, tissues and cells.

To promote health, including the reduction of health inequalities:

• Action on health determinants - such as nutrition, alcohol, tobacco and drug consumption, as well as social and environmental determinants;
• Measures on the prevention of major diseases and reducing health inequalities across the EU;
• Increasing healthy life years and promoting healthy ageing.

Health information and knowledge:

• Action on health indicators and ways of disseminating information to citizens;
• Focus on Community added-value action to exchange knowledge in areas such as gender issues, children's health or rare diseases.

Financing mechanisms

To ensure full participation in the Programme by organisations which promote a health agenda in line with the Programme objectives, a wider variety of financing mechanisms are offered. These include:

• Cofinancing of projects intended to achieve a Programme objective;
• Tendering actions to achieve a Programme objective;
• Cofinancing of the operating costs of a non-governmental organisation or a specialised network;
• Joint financing of a public body or non-governmental organisation by the Community and one or more Member States;
• Joint actions with other Community programmes, which will generate coherence between this instrument and other Community programmes.