Session 6

Universal health coverage and the role of the health workforce

Building on the momentum from COVID-19

Organised by Open Society Foundations and the European Institute of Health and Sustainable Development

COVID-19 has created a generational opportunity to place health at the center of European cooperation. Fueled by fragmented responses, the pandemic has laid bare the shortcomings of a European contract that incentivises national responses over cross-national solidarity. Nowhere is this clearer than in the case of the European health workforce. Plagued by competition and nationalist impulse since long before COVID-19, the development of a regional health workforce has never been more important. 

In this session, we will explore the opportunity of COVID-19 to strengthen the EU’s policies for public health, develop and address shortages of its health work force, provide universal health coverage, and build a just and inclusive future for all. It has never been more important for European countries to come together and adopt a cooperative approach to public health challenges. Individual lives, the public’s health, and the dream of European integration are at stake.

Organisers