Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-01-13-Speech-2-259"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20040113.11.2-259"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
".
Let me first say that surveillance of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and cancer are important health issues for the Community as a whole, and remain important priorities for me. However, the responsibility for such surveillance – for cancer screening tests – rests with the Member States. The Community’s role is to provide the appropriate framework for coordination of these activities, to facilitate the sharing and spread of good practice and to promote the development of common methodologies and procedures.
To this end, the Commission provides funding for the setting-up of networks that deliver standardised methods of collection and processing of information on diseases such as AIDS, TB and cancer at Community level. Once networks have been developed in this way, their participating structures should be in a position to continue routine network activities. The Community should concentrate on the development of networking and the Commission will continue to do so, within the present budgetary possibilities, until the proposed European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control is established.
The Member States must provide the resources to ensure that surveillance activities are properly pursued in their territory. The Commission will continue to promote cooperation and coordination between the Member States through the Communicable Diseases Network. The funding decisions referred to by the honourable Member will not therefore lead to a gap in surveillance.
This is not to say that the Community is not contributing to actions on cancer, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. We are already funding 15 projects on AIDS, amounting to a total contribution of over EUR 4.2 million. We also plan to support a project under the 2003 budget to strengthen coordination of surveillance of infections in the northern region, including HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. This will include Russia, Ukraine and Belarus – all areas with worrying infection rates for HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, and areas where improved surveillance must be a high priority, especially in the context of enlargement.
On cancer, we plan to fund three projects from the 2003 budget, two on smoking prevention and one on cancer information, to a total of about EUR 4.4 million. This is on top of the massive investment that has been made over the last 15 years in cancer prevention, which has already helped to make cancer epidemiology one of the most developed areas of health statistics.
There were many valuable proposals made for the public health programme in 2003, which the budget available did not allow us to fund. I understand the problems faced by those that have been involved in the surveillance networks, the development of which the Commission has financed since 1996.
The Commission has taken several steps to improve the situation. First, we have mobilised experts to provide advice on funding priorities for disease surveillance under the work plan for 2004 and for future funding rounds under the public health programme. Secondly, we have disseminated guidance on projects concerning disease-specific surveillance networks to enhance quality and their potential for funding. Thirdly, we are giving urgent consideration to the possibilities this year under other funding mechanisms, including under the research programme, for data compilation and processing on HIV/AIDS and TB, as well as on cancer screening.
We should also remember that the 2003 budget is not the end of the story. Future work plans under the public health programme, starting with that of 2004, will have the scope and potential to finance projects on cancer, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. The importance of ensuring continuity of support for key networks in the field of communicable diseases until the proposed European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control is established will be particularly stressed. My services are working to ensure that this will be reflected in future funding rounds. I hope that this provision, together with the many projects I have described and the coordination of surveillance activities we continue to provide will respond to the question put by the honourable Member."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples