Health

Calls have been coming from all sides for the EU to intervene in the COVID-19 crisis in the name of European solidarity. Although the Union has little room for manoeuvre in the public-health sphere, it can use the powerful lever of economic and monetary policy to counter the coming economic downturn.

Most of the drugs sold worldwide come from India and China, where production is cheapest. As a result, Europe’s supply of medicines is in the hands of a few companies. 

The COVID-19 outbreak has revived fears over acute drug shortages in Europe, sparking calls to repatriate the production of pharmaceutical ingredients from China. But rebuilding capacity would take years, if it were even possible.

How prepared are European hospitals to manage a steep increase of intensive care hospitalizations, needed in severe cases of coronavirus syndrome? We have collected some data, but the picture is far from complete.

Data shows awareness is key on World Cancer Day, the global initiative led by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC). 

The number of victims of road accidents is decreasing year after year in Europe, but its reduction is slower than anticipated. Every year, about 25,000 people still die in accidents in the EU. More decisive measures are needed, from further lowering alcohol limits to investment in infrastructure.

Greece takes the bloody lead in terms of deaths and injuries in rail accidents in the EU, with about 25 victims per year. Problems are mainly caused by unsafe level crossings, poor infrastructure and traffic management systems, and understaffed companies.

Europeans are getting heavier. One in three 30-year-olds weighs more than they should, and a full half of 40-year-olds are overweight. Only 44 per cent of people do some form of exercise at least once a week.

In Western Europe and Scandinavia, people spend more on healthcare and live longer, while in Central and Eastern Europe and the Baltic States, less money is spent and life expectancy at birth is lower too. The EU average for healthcare spending is 9.9 percent of GDP. In Hungary it is 7.4 percent.

Introduced in Spain over 40 years ago, ART has allowed hundreds of thousands of infertile couples to have children. The regulation varies significantly among EU countries.