The European Union and the United States have established a new Joint Health Task Force to work together on cancer, global health threats and related supply chains and infrastructure, officials said at a press conference on Wednesday.
The taskforce was formed following a partnership agreement signed in June last year to tackle health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakites met US Health Secretary Xavier Becerra in Brussels to establish the unit.
The task force has already established two task forces focusing on cancer in children and adolescents and lung cancer to address prevention, detection and care. The working groups met for the first time on May 10.
Working groups are still being set up on other priority areas, and women’s rights and reproductive health are among the priorities.
The EU and US said they were looking for “consistent global mechanisms” to address health threats including bird flu, Marburg disease, antimicrobial resistance and post-Covid-19 conditions.
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