EU member states have agreed procedures for taking joint action against health threats such as the outbreak of a pandemic. The agreement would help countries to co-operate to purchase vaccines and medicines in large quantities in the event of a cross-border health threat.

An agreement was signed today (20 June) by Tonio Borg, the European commissioner for health, and the health ministers from the member states at a Council meeting in Luxembourg.

In 2009, the threat of a pandemic of H1N1 influenza – better known as swine flu – exposed the weakness of some member states that did not have sufficient purchasing power to get hold of vaccines and antivirals, which were in short supply.

The Commission has since been working to improve – on a voluntary basis – the purchasing power of individual states and ensure equal access to vaccines and antivirals. According to the Commission, a shared procedure for joint procurement is needed to “improve purchasing power” and to have a “collective approach in contract negotiation with the industry”. A common strategy is desirable because if one of the EU member states is affected by a health crisis and is not well prepared, it would have an impact on the situation in other countries and EU response capacity as the crisis spreads.

Borg said countries would be better prepared for future health threats. “They will be able to provide their citizens with the necessary medicines and to obtain them under better conditions than in the past.”

Click Here: All Blacks Rugby Jersey

The extent of the agreement reaches further than vaccines for pandemics. It could also be used to purchase vaccines for diseases such as botulism, anthrax, hepatitis B or polio. Any EU country could make a proposal to buy vaccines jointly. Financial commitments will apply only when contracts are signed to buy medicines jointly.