EU Health Award 2017 open for applications

The European Commission launched the EU Health Award for 2017. Deadline for submitting applications is June 30, 2017. With this award, the EC wants to highlight and reward outstanding initiatives of international, European, national or regional non-governmental bodies which have significantly contributed to higher levels of vaccination within the EU population.The winner of the competition will receive € 20,000 and the two runners-up € 15,000 and € 10,000.

The call for applications targets initiatives that help achieving higher level of public health for Europeans through vaccination, with particular attention to several related aspects:

• Prevention: availability of vaccines and access to sustainable immunization services;
• Awareness and information: promoting vaccination/advocacy;
• Countering growing vaccine hesitancy;
• Engaging with health care professionals to strengthen education/medical curricula/training, advocacy and  health care professionals’ communication skills;
• Surveillance;
• Tackling vaccination from a specific disease perspective (e.g. Human Papilloma virus HPV, seasonal flu, childhood immunisation, life-course vaccination/adult vaccination, synergies between vaccination and use of antibiotic);
• Other initiatives that can promote higher levels of public health in EU through vaccination.

Initiatives must have been undertaken from January 1, 2015 until today. Applicants can act at European, national or regional level, from entities established in one of the EU Member States, Iceland, Serbia, Norway and countries which have a bilateral agreement with the European Union. The EU Health Award is funded under the 3^rd Health Programme 2014-2020.