European Programme of Work

The European Programme of Work, 2020–2025 – “United Action for Better Health in Europe” (EPW) has been developed through a process of extensive consultation with Member States, the European Commission, non-State actors, intergovernmental and United Nations organizations, as well as WHO staff. Following the recommendation of the Twenty-seventh Standing Committee of the Regional Committee for Europe, it was submitted for adoption to the 70th session of the Regional Committee in September 2020.

This EPW sets priorities for the coming five years by starting from what citizens in the Region legitimately expect from their health authorities. People want their authorities to guarantee their right to universal access to quality care without fear of financial hardship; they want them to offer effective protection against health emergencies; and they want to be able to thrive in healthy communities, where public health actions and appropriate public policies secure a better life in an economy of well-being. People increasingly – and rightly – hold their health authorities to account for meeting those expectations.

The EPW sets out a vision of how the WHO Regional Office for Europe can support health authorities in Member States to rise to that challenge, in each country and collectively in the Region.

The development of the EPW’s vision started before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the Region so fiercely. This crisis obviously mandated course corrections, which have been integrated into this strategy. Given the state of flux in European health systems, the EPW should be seen as a live document that will regularly be updated.  The EPW is not an exhaustive enumeration of WHO/Europe’s normative and technical work. Rather, it focuses on those aspects that constitute a departure from a mere continuation of business as usual, given the radically changed context under which WHO will operate in the coming years. It leaves room for agile implementation, speeding up delivery of results and supporting investment in the future.

While recognizing that every WHO region has its particular challenges, opportunities and priorities, the EPW demonstrates how the work of the WHO Regional Office for Europe can best contribute to the global vision set out in WHO’s Thirteenth General Programme of Work, 2019–2023 (GPW 13), and to the preparation of the upcoming GPW 14. It aligns the work of WHO/Europe with the triple billion targets, while supporting countries in their commitments to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Global Action Plan for Healthy Lives and Well-Being for All.