LERU looks forward to HERA

LERU welcomes the proposal from the European Commission on the establishment of the Health Emergency Response and Preparedness Authority (HERA) to boost Europe’s ability to prepare and respond to future global health threats and crises.

LERU supports the establishment of HERA as a full end-to-end authority, bringing together the key elements of health preparedness and response under one roof. Likewise, LERU is also pleased to see that HERA will work in close collaboration with existing EU agencies, Member States, and international bodies such as WHO to respond to health threats, share knowledge and build capacities in the EU and globally.

The European Commission has rightly stated that ‘knowledge, research and innovation will be key to all areas of HERA’s work’. This creates an important role and opportunity for universities, by undertaking R&D on countermeasures; providing expertise on novel and emerging threats; bringing together the multidisciplinary expertise which is vital in terms of developing an effective public health response; and building capacity through specialist education and training activities both in Europe and world-wide.

Kurt Deketelaere, Secretary-General of LERU said that ‘universities have played a crucial role throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, from vaccine development, modelling epidemiological scenarios, communicating with the public and providing their specialist expertise amongst others. We look forward to working with the European Commission, Member States, industry, civil society and other key players to ensure that the HERA is a success.’