The European Food Information Council (EUFIC) welcomes being awarded the EU4Health (EU4H) Programme operating grant for 2022, as part of the EU's largest programme to boost public health in Europe. Launched as a response to the Covid-19 pandemic, EU4H is managed by the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA), and it is aimed at improving and fostering health in the European Union.
Commenting upon the signature of the grant, Laura Fernández Celemín, EUFIC's Director General, said: "We are grateful to receive the support of the European Commission Health4All programme, as a springboard to our activities in 2022. Proactively building up citizens' health literacy, countering misinformation on food and health, and inspiring the healthy and sustainable diet shift are key to achieve healthier lifestyles in Europe and build resilience to health crises. Structural funding as provided through this grant is crucial to enable NGOs to pursue such efforts with the continuity required to make a lasting contribution."
The operating grant will support the development and implementation of EUFIC's core activities, brought together under the banner "Food Facts for Healthy Choices". The work programme consists of four priority areas for 2022:
- Supporting the prevention of diet-related non-communicable diseases (NCDs), by providing high quality, relevant content that motivates and empowers citizens to adopt healthier diets
- Inspiring and informing the healthy and sustainable diet shift, enhancing stakeholder discussions on effective consumer information
- Empowering the reduction of food waste at household level, by informing citizen engagement and inspiring behaviour change
- Increasing citizen’s health literacy, encouraging interdisciplinary science-based dialogues and improving media reporting on food and health issues
The activities will deliver on the four core objectives underpinning the EU4Health programme, namely 1) reducing the burden of NCDs. Health promotion & disease prevention Promotion of healthy lifestyles, 2) improving health literacy, 3) provision of valid, reliable, and comparable high-quality evidence for decision-making, and 4) supporting global commitment & health initiatives, reinforcing EU support for action by international organizations.
EUFIC's campaigns will span across digital, media and stakeholder engagement, working with a wide network of multipliers, including journalists, science communicators, social media influencers, non-governmental organizations, and institutional partners across Europe.