EU aims to stockpile critical medical supplies for future crises
BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The European Union aims to stockpile critical medical equipment and vaccines in case of future health crises and to set up a network to ease coordination among EU countries, European crisis chief Hadja Lahbib said on Wednesday.
The 27-country bloc is scarred by the memory of the COVID-19 pandemic when it faced a shortage of vaccines and protective masks.
"We need a long-term strategy to make sure that essential supplies that keep society running are always available," European Commissioner Lahbib told a news conference.
Under the EU Stockpiling and Medical Countermeasures Strategies, the EU will draw up a priority list of medical equipment to be stockpiled in Europe, including vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics, and personal protective equipment.
The EU will double investments in the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response, known as HERA for short, to 200 million euros ($234 million) by 2027, Lahbib said. The scheme funds research and development projects.
She said the European Commission will also launch a Medical Countermeasures Accelerator to serve as a one-stop shop to help companies access financing to develop health technologies.
A European and Global Wastewater Sentinel System will be set up to collect samples from European airports to detect disease hotspots and monitor in real time the evolution of outbreaks.
Under a measure called the Medifence initiative, the EU will collaborate with NATO's Joint Health group to draw up a list of dual-use medical countermeasures - usable for both military and civilian purposes - such as antidotes and chemical protections.
As part of the Stockpiling Strategy, the EU will develop a Stockpiling Network with member states to coordinate their initiatives and avoid duplicate funding.
"We know that some countries are stockpiling on their own, but we don't know who has what. The first step is to exchange information," Lahbib said.
($1 = 0.8536 euros)
(Reporting by Milan Strahm; editing by Barbara Lewis)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
11 hours ago
- The Star
Sniffer dogs help Mexico fight the flesh-eating screwworm
Havana, a two-year-old Shepherd mix, practices detecting screwworm, a pest that infests livestock, on a cow-sized equipment inside a greenhouse shed at the canine training center Ceacan, in Tecamac on the outskirts of Mexico City, Mexico July 10,2025. REUTERS/Raquel Cunha TECAMAC, Mexico (Reuters) - With tail wagging, tongue out and ears perked, Hummer - a young mixed breed dog with a slick black coat - sits down in front of a sample of screwworm scent, promptly accepting praise and treats from his handler. Trained to detect the smell of screwworm, a flesh-eating pest that has infected Mexico's cattle herd and disrupted livestock trade with the United States, Hummer and his canine colleagues offer a glimmer of hope in controlling the worm. At a government-run training center about an hour outside Mexico City, officials from a special unit of the country's health safety agency Senasica run a three-month intensive training program for a select group of dogs to sniff out screwworm and other pests or diseases in live animals or agricultural products. Most of the dogs are rescued from shelters, allowing animals that may have been abandoned for being too difficult to find a new life. Feisty pups that steal food from the table, never calm down and have a relentless desire to play are the perfect candidates. "Sometimes what people don't want is the ideal for us," said Cesar Dangu, head of the canine training center Ceacan. "We also have to look for other qualities: that they don't get angry, they are affectionate, they can live with people and with other animals." Not all dogs respond to the aroma of screwworm, a pest that infests livestock and wildlife and carries maggots that burrow into the skin of living animals, causing serious and often fatal damage. Some dogs will refuse to approach the aroma, Dangu said, making those that take to it even more valuable in their task. After cases started emerging in Mexico, the U.S. closed its southern border to imports of certain livestock, including cattle, in May before a gradual reopening began this week. On Wednesday, however, the U.S. government once again closed the border to cattle after a new case of screwworm was detected in Veracruz state, about 370 miles (595 km) south of the U.S. border, a decision Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum called "exaggerated." On a sunny afternoon at Ceacan, just hours after the border closure announcement, the work of the dogs took on new urgency. There are only six screwworm-sniffing dogs working at a livestock border passage in the southern state of Chiapas, which borders Guatemala, the heart of Mexico's screwworm infestation. Havana, a two-year-old Shepherd mix, practices detecting screwworm on cow-sized equipment inside a greenhouse, a training exercise meant to mimic the sweltering heat the dogs must tolerate in Chiapas, said instructor Mayte Tontle. "We want our dogs to adapt as much as possible to the real-life conditions," Tontle said. With at least 47 new cases of screwworm detected daily in Mexico, according to government data, the handful of highly trained canines are a small element of Mexico's response, which also includes a $51 million facility in Chiapas to produce sterile flies to reduce the reproducing population of the wild flies. The plant, with a hefty $21 million investment from the U.S., is expected to be ready in the first half of 2026. The dogs trained at Ceacan will work until they complete eight years on the job or turn 10 years old, whichever comes first. After that, they retire. "I would say 99% of the dogs are adopted by their handler. There is an unbreakable link because of the love between the handler and the dog," Dangu said. (Reporting by Cassandra Garrison; additional reporting by Alicia Fernandez and Raquel Cunha; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
The Star
a day ago
- The Star
Russian attack on Kharkiv damages maternity hospital, sending patients fleeing
KHARKIV, Ukraine (Reuters) -A Russian drone attack on the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Friday damaged a maternity hospital, authorities said, terrifying patients as windows shattered and shards of glass fell on to the beds, leaving families rushing to shelter their babies. Three women and three newborns suffered acute stress and received medical help, according to Kharkiv's regional prosecutors. Oleksandra Lavrynenko was at the hospital after just giving birth. "We woke up and heard a very loud whistle. My husband and I got up and quickly went to our little one, and at that moment there was a hit and the windows shattered," she said. They rushed to shelter one-day-old Maksym underground. "It was very scary, because I was so full of adrenaline that I probably forgot that I had stitches. Now I am slowly recovering from the shock," Lavrynenko said. "It is very difficult and scary to give birth at this time," she said, laying next to her son. Shards of glass littered the medical facility's floors and beds and patients and staff prepared to evacuate. Oleksandr Kondriatskyi, one of the doctors, said the attack damaged the side of the building where the delivery and surgery rooms were located. "Everyone, both the staff and the women, suffered severe stress," he said, adding that some of the patients only gave birth a couple days ago and had had surgery. Russia has increased the intensity of aerial attacks in recent weeks, and carried out more missile and drone strikes across Ukraine. It has frequently targeted Ukraine's second largest city, Kharkiv, located in the northeast of the country, since launching its full-scale invasion in 2022. Nine people were injured in Kharkiv and an apartment building was also damaged in the attack. One person died and at least five more were injured as a result of various Russian attacks over the past day in the surrounding region, governor Oleh Syniehubov said. (Reporting by Vitalii Hnidyi; Writing by Anastasiia Malenko; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
Free Malaysia Today
a day ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Hadi says would like to die ‘while still in office'
Marang MP Abdul Hadi Awang has been president of PAS since 2003. (Bernama pic) PETALING JAYA : PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang has hinted at ambitions to retain the top post at the party polls this September. Hadi, who has been plagued by health issues, said he felt better following a procedure at the National Heart Institute, Utusan Malaysia reported. 'If possible, I want to die while still in office,' he was quoted as saying. Hadi was asked to comment on rumours that he wished to step down from the post he had held since 2003 due to health issues. His health had been on the decline for the past few years, necessitating dialysis and several hospital admissions. Last month, Sinar Harian reported that the seven-term Marang MP had hinted at stepping down as PAS president due to health reasons. It is understood that Hadi expressed his intention to senior party leaders at a recent retreat in Terengganu. This fuelled speculation on the party's top two positions ahead of its internal elections. PAS Dewan Ulama committee member Mokhtar Senik claimed there were calls for Hadi to relinquish the top post, although this was denied by several state-level leaders. In February, a PAS source told FMT that the party was likely to hold a contest for its top two posts at its elections this year, for the first time in a decade. Hadi and PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man have not been challenged for the posts since the 2015 party polls.
