Launch of MEP Lung Health Group – 13 October

On 13 October at 15:00 CEST, a new MEP (Member of the European Parliament) Lung Health Group will be launched virtually and we want you to be part of it. There has never been a more important time to make sure that lung health is high on the EU agenda.The aim of the group is to:

• Maintain a forum for discussion and action with all stakeholders in respiratory health.
• Be a focal point for MEPs and organisations interested in what is currently the most prevalent respiratory disease: COVID-19.
• Advocate for patients suffering the burden of chronic and infectious lung disease.
• Promote a greater understanding of respiratory health, its risk factors and tangible prevention measures.
• Translate this dialogue into policy across diverse areas such as health, research, environment, tobacco control, housing, energy, transport, air quality and occupational exposures.
• Focus on increasing funding for basic and translational research.
• Ensure access to lung health care is available for all citizens across Europe.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown more than ever the need to have a focus on respiratory illness and the promotion of healthy lungs.

The event launch will include talks from:

• Prof. Anita Simonds – a healthcare professional and European Respiratory Society (ERS) President who works both on the hospital ward, but also with the European Medicines Agency (EMA) taskforce and WHO Europe on COVID-19;
• MEP Manuel Pizzaro, who went back to help out in Portugal during the height of the pandemic; and
• Marta Almagro – a respiratory patient and member of the European Lung Foundation (ELF) Council and Patient Advisory Group for bronchiectasis – on her experience of living through the crisis.

MEP Lung Health Group co-chairs, MEP Manuel Pizarro and MEP Željana Zovko, will chair the event and discuss the ways in which lung health is on the agenda at the European Parliament.

The EU interacts with respiratory medicine and lung health in many ways; whether it is the prevention of respiratory diseases via the Tobacco Products Directive, Ambient Air Quality Directives, Cancer and Mutagens Directive, or via the control of the diseases through the work of EMA, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and Cross Border Healthcare Directive (ERNs).

Perhaps one of the positives of this crisis is that it gives new opportunities for enhancing health policy and co-operation at the EU level. This event seeks to discuss the experience of respiratory professionals dealing with COVID-19 and with ‘high risk’ patients how the EU could help improve their situation.

Join us for the launch event by filling in your details here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/launch-mep-lung-health-group-every-breath-counts-tickets-121332238993

Support the activities of the group moving forward by sending an email to: alice.gannon@europeanlung.org