Priority attention to non-Covid patients, especially oncological and chronic, in order not to lose the progress achieved in the last 20 years in terms of prevention and treatment. Ease of access to health services and medicines to reduce inequalities and “leave no one behind”.

Investments to have more resilient health services and to support research for more equitable access to care and to address unmet health needs. Strong reference to the sense of responsibility at all institutional levels in order to transform into acts the spirit of solidarity between countries which is a precondition for dealing with crises worldwide.

These, in summary, are the main messages hosted in the video created by Active Citizenship Network, the European branch of the Italian NGO Cittadinanzattiva, and addressed to the political leaders and experts gathered today in Rome on the occasion of the Global Health Summit, co-organized by the European Commission and Italy as chair of the G20. Here is the link to the video

“The Global Health Summit is an opportunity not to be missed to strengthen cooperation and solidarity, and to renew mutual commitments to reform, transform and invest in global health. It is also a space to define new models of action and powerful synergies able to immediately ensure essential vaccines and drugs to citizens of all countries of the world, fighting inequity and inequality”, says Anna Lisa Mandorino, general secretary of Cittadinanzattiva. "We hope that the Rome Declaration will take into account the proposals and experiences of civic organizations, and that it will be a starting point for building a true Health Union and rights, the same contained in the European Charter of Patients’ Rights drafted by Cittadinanzattiva, that every citizen must have guaranteed ".

Starting from the concrete experiences made during the pandemic, 50 associations from 18 countries signed a Manifesto with 10 Recommendations addressed to European institutions, to remark the unmet needs of non-Covid patients, launched on the occasion of the recent "European Patients’ Rights Day".

Among these recommendations there is the one to encourage forms of monitoring such as the Italian one promoted by the Civic Observatory on PNRR “Follow the Money” – to involve citizens, in every country, in the use of funds in order to improve the healthcare system. Secondly, as in any reconstruction, the involvement of a large number of active and attentive civic and social actors is essential in order to improve European healthcare systems.

The other eights recommendations are: to monitor COVID-19 impact on non-COVID-19 patients; to urgently secure safe access to diagnostic, immunization, screening and treatments; to secure well-resourced healthcare systems post COVID-19; to support the Digital Healthcare transition; to affirm a life-course approach for chronic diseases prevention; to strengthen a ‘One Health approach’ to prevent future pandemic; to develop a Manifesto for the rights of patients living with multi co-morbidity; “Health for all EU citizens” must be placed at the heart of the Conference on the Future of Europe. The full Manifesto is available here.