“Efficient spending on health can promote growth and Europe needs smart investments in health.” This was one of the key messages of a public lecture delivered by Martin Seychell, Deputy Director General at the European Commission’s Directorate for Health and Consumers.
The lecture, which took place at Europe House in Valletta this morning, was the second in a series of public lectures themed ‘Appuntament mal-Ewropa’, organised by the European Parliament Information Office in Malta.
These events are aimed at stimulating debate on particular European themes, while adapting them to the local context.
Mr Seychell explained that promoting good health is an integral part of the Europe 2020 policy framework. Health is a value in itself and also a growth-friendly type of expenditure; having healthy populations and sustainable health systems are decisive for economic growth.
He said that investing in health helps the EU rise to the challenges identified in its Health Strategy that have been compounded by the economic crisis: an ageing population, an increase in chronic diseases, a greater demand for healthcare and the high cost of technological progress.
Health expenditure accounts for about 10% of GDP and almost 15% of public spending in the EU. Mr Seychell stressed that it is not only how much money is spent, but also how it is spent, that determines a country’s health status.
He noted that while Malta’s spending on health as a percentage of GDP is 8.6%, which is lower than the EU average, the country’s average annual increase in public health expenditure as a percentage of GDP between 1995 and 2010 was 2.5% – one of the highest in the EU. And according to 2010 data of the World Health Organisation, Malta’s total pharmaceutical expenditure as a percentage of the total health expenditure was 28%. In comparison, the total pharmaceutical expenditure in Germany is 14.8% and 17% in Italy.
The European Commission’s activities in the public health area include:
adding value to the work of member states while respecting national responsibilities
helping member states improve the efficiency of health systems
supporting the implementation of EU laws and cooperation (eg. exchange of good practices) with EU funding
involving health stakeholders in EU policy making
contributing to science-based decision making through agencies and scientific committees.