High Level Policy Forum “ADDRESSING CANCER INJUSTICE IN CEE COUNTRIES” (Croatia, Nov 14th 2022) – Full Recording

umerous indicators clearly indicate large differences in cancer prevention and oncological care between Member States, but also within them. These inequalities are reflected in the availability of preventive programs, rates of early cancer detection, diagnosis, availability of innovative drugs and modern treatment methods, survival and measures to improve the quality of life of cancer patients and cancer survivors. As the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the EU Commissioner for Health, Stella Kyriakides, have pointed out for many times, the European Beating Cancer Plan clearly states that these inequalities between countries are unacceptable in the European Health Union, which strives to protect everyone, and that there should not be citizents or patients of “first-class” and “second-class”…“

Taking into account that many countries in Central and Eastern Europe have the same problems as Croatia, Croatian Ministry of Health and Health Hub (think tank for healthcare) organized High Level Policy Forum “Addressing Cancer Injustice in CEE Countries” covering inequality and injustice in access to all levels of oncology care for Eastern compared to Western countries with better statistics and treatment outcomes, while proposing new solutions and strategies for the future, presenting best practices and the possibility of using European funds to reduce inequality in prevention and cancer treatment with an emphasis on timely access to innovations. This Forum was organized on the occasion of the European Beating Cancer Plan, the Next Generation EU program, the Croatian National Strategic Framework against Cancer and the National Lung Cancer Screening and Early Detection Program. Partners of the Forum were respectable organizations: European Cancer Organisation, European Cancer Patient Coalition, Center for Innovation in Medicine InoMed, EFPIA (European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industry and Association, Central European Collaborative Oncology Group (CECOG), with the local support of the European Commission and the European Parliament .