Wednesday, 30 September, 20.00 – 21.00 CET (2.00 pm – 3.00 pm, US Eastern)

Given the huge societal and economic impacts of the coronavirus in Europe, everyone is hopeful that COVID-19 vaccines will soon be available – but what happens next? According to an Economist report from August 2018, in the past decade vaccination rates in some European countries have often fallen below those in parts of Africa. It claims that Italy, France and Serbia have lower child-vaccination rates than Burundi, Rwanda and Senegal. After billions of Euros have been invested by governments, what will happen if many EU citizens are unwilling to take the vaccine? What can be done now to ensure that those who need the COVID-19 vaccine most are treated first when the vaccines are available? Furthermore, how do EU member states plan on measuring and monitoring the safety of vaccines that have been rapidly put onto the market ̶ and who will ultimately be accountable? And from the patient’s perspective, how can we build trust around the EU’s management of COVID-19, which has become increasingly politicised?

9 September, 2020, 8.30 CET

Cancer is still often considered a death sentence. It is the second leading cause of death globally and will soon overtake cardiovascular disease as the number one killer. As a result, the main effect that people expect treatments to have is to prolong overall survival either through curing the disease or by slowing its progression and reducing cancer-related symptoms. Indeed, great progress has been made in recent years and cancer mortality grows at a much slower pace than cancer incidence.

This webinar intends to discuss different perspectives on how funding decisions should be approached depending on the setting of the disease.

15 July, 15.00-16.00 CET

This year more than half a million Europeans will be diagnosed with lung cancer. While many countries have improved the management of lung cancer through better prevention, detection, diagnosis and treatment, the disease continues to claim 1 in 5 cancer deaths across Europe, posing significant challenges to patients and healthcare systems. To identify further opportunities for improvement, The Economist Intelligence Unit made a comparative analysis of lung cancer policies across 27 countries. Over the course of 18 months almost 200 experts provided their insights and advice. During this webinar we will discuss the main findings of this new, landmark study, and discuss in particular the role that governments and policy makers can play in addressing the high burden that lung cancer presents.