Healthy, resilient and stable societies: multifaceted challenges, cross-cutting solutions

Hosams Abu Meri has served as Minister for Health of the Republic of Latvia since September 2023. He has been actively involved in Latvian politics since 2011 when he became Advisor to the Minister of the Interior. He was Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Welfare, Chairman of the “Unity” faction in the parliament, and served as Advisor to the Prime Minister for Integration Affairs. Abu Meri is a distinguished gastroenterologist, specializing in endoscopy. He qualified as a medical doctor at the Medical Academy of Latvia, before gaining diplomas in internal medicine and gastroenterology from the University of Latvia.

Nathalie Berger leads the DG REFORM Directorate that provides strategic support to growth-enhancing reforms in the member states. Prior to assuming this position, Berger worked as a Head of Unit at DG FISMA, where she led several regulatory reforms in response to the great financial crisis. As Deputy Director, she was in charge of Banking Regulation and Supervision, and representation at the Basel Committee and the European Banking Authority. When she joined the European Commission over two decades ago, Berger was mainly responsible for the development of Commission implementing powers in the field of financial services. Previously, she also worked as an expert in company law and corporate governance, and as a Deputy Head of Unit in charge of interinstitutional Relations and policy coordination. Berger started her career in academia, as a researcher and lecturer, and is the author of several articles and a book on European law and policies.

Evelyn Brakema, MD, PhD, is chair and co-founder of the Dutch Green Health Alliance, a grassroots alliance that mobilises health professionals to catalyse the transition to sustainability in healthcare and to promote Planetary Health in society. The alliance’s 200+ affiliated committees of green health professionals range from students to specialists, and from psychologists to urologists, whose collaborative efforts contributed to the accelerated implementation of green practices locally, and to the integration of Planetary Health in policy internationally. Brakema is also a GP resident and researcher in sustainable healthcare at the Leiden University Medical Centre in the Netherlands. Notably, she was awarded the Catharina Pijls Prize for national best health thesis in 2022 and 2023.

Sarada Das currently holds the position of Secretary General of the CPME, which represents national medical associations across Europe and is committed to contributing the medical profession’s point of view to EU and European policy-making through pro-active cooperation on a wide range of health and healthcare-related issues. Das has been working for CPME for over a decade and has notably assisted the CPME membership in its activities relating to professional practice and ethics.

Marthe De Boevre (PhD) currently serves as Professor and Principal Investigator at Ghent University’s Centre of Excellence in Mycotoxicology & Public Health (CEMPH). Her work on mycotoxins is highly esteemed within the international scientific community and contributed to EFSA’s scientific opinion on modified mycotoxins. As the head of the CEMPH, De Boevre specialises in advanced analytical techniques for measuring small molecules in human biospecimens. Her research mainly focuses on the clinical impact of mycotoxins, particularly in cancer risk and growth retardation, through large-scale cohort studies. De Boevre’s innovative approach has led to groundbreaking studies on the toxicokinetics of deoxynivalenol and the use of non-invasive microsampling techniques for vulnerable populations. Her leadership and collaborative spirit have attracted substantial investment and public engagement, establishing her as a prominent figure in mycotoxin research and preventive health strategies.

Prior to assuming his current role as Czech Deputy Minister of Health, for which he is mainly responsible for pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and the implementation of the National Recovery Plan, Jakub Dvořáček served as executive director of the Association of the Innovative Pharmaceutical Industry. Previously, he served as director of the Investment Division in CzechInvest, an agency at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, involved in the promotion of foreign direct investments to the Czech Republic. Concurrently, he served as an advisor to the Czech Minister of Education, Youth and Sport. Dvořáček also held several management positions in Caritas Czech Republic and managed significant health awareness programs, development, and humanitarian projects around the world. 

Prior to joining Friends of Europe, Dharmendra Kanani was director of policy at the European Foundation Centre (EFC). He was the England director at the Big Lottery Fund, the largest independent funder in the UK and fourth largest in the world. Dharmendra has held senior positions in the public and voluntary sectors and advisor to numerous ministerial policy initiatives across the UK.

*Consultant at Friends of Europe.

Elena Višnar Malinovská is the Head of the climate adaptation & resilience Unit at the European Commission’s DG CLIMA. In her role, she leads the work on the EU strategy on climate adaptation, the Horizon Europe Mission on adaptation and first European Climate Risk Assessment.

Robert Metzke is the Global Head of Sustainability at Philips, leading the company’s strategy towards innovative, sustainable business models and embedding sustainable ways of working across the value chain. His focus includes driving activities related to Philips’ environmental responsibility, such as climate action and circular economy, as well as expanding access to healthcare in underserved communities. Before joining Philips, he gained extensive experience in strategy and innovation at McKinsey & Company, with a background in journalism, science publishing, and academic research.

Marina Romanello is the Executive Director of the Lancet Countdown and a climate change and health researcher at UCL. Romanello’s research background spans from toxicology to environmental health and climate change, and she has previously carried out her research at the Instituto Tecnologico de Buenos Aires, the University of Cambridge and the Francis Crick Institute. Working as a consultant for the NHS, Romanello led a team of researchers in developing its net zero commitments and is a member of the working group on health co-benefits in climate change mitigation policies of Italy’s Superior Health Council.

In her role of Senior Vice-President, Head of European Markets, Monica Shaw leads BMS’s business across Europe, with a portfolio of innovative medicines spanning oncology, hematology, cardiovascular, immunology, cell therapy and neurology. Shaw joined BMS from Oncopeptides, a global biotechnology company, where she served as Chief Executive Officer. She has held several international leadership positions at Leo Pharma, GSK/ViiV Healthcare, Merck Serono and Novartis, with experience across immunology, dermatology, oncology, virology, neurology and rare diseases. Previously, Shaw also worked as a doctor at the UK’s National Health Service.

At the European Parliament, Tomislav Sokol serves as the European People’s Party (EPP) Coordinator in the Committee on Public Health (SANT) and Vice-Coordinator in Special Committee on the COVID-19 pandemic: lessons learned and recommendations for the future (COVI). He also sits on the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI), among others. Currently, Sokol is the main rapporteur for the European Health Data Space and EPP shadow rapporteur for pharmaceutical legislation (regulation). Prior to Brussels, he was a member of the Croatian parliament and an assistant minister in the Ministry of Science and Education. Sokol’s areas of professional interest include the law of the European common market, as well as health, competition, social and trade law. 

Adrián Vázquez Lázara is a prominent member of the European Parliament and has served as the Legal Affairs Committee President since 2020. He has made significant legislative contributions, including work on the Corporate Due Diligence Directive and the patents package. Vázquez is also a substitute member of the Agriculture and Rural Development Committee, focusing on the Common Agricultural Policy reform and legislative proposals within the European Green Deal. Apart from his parliamentary work, Vázquez has an extensive background in international relations and is currently a lecturer at ESADE and the Centro Universitario Cardenal Cisneros.

Karolien Van Orshoven is a Clinical Project Manager and Team Lead at ArtiQ, an AI software designed to assist healthcare professionals in conducting and interpreting spirometry and pulmonary function tests. She also serves as a lecturer in biomedical sciences at the University of Namur. With over 15 years of experience in clinical research across various organisations and therapeutic areas, Van Orshoven has gained expertise in drug development, clinical research, quality management and people management. She started her career with fundamental research at the University of Leuven.

Gaia Vince is a science writer and broadcaster, who explores the interplay between human systems and the planetary environment. She is an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the Anthropocene Institute at University College London (UCL) and a host of BBC Inside Science. Her first book, “Adventures In The Anthropocene”, won the Royal Society Science Book of the Year Prize. Her latest book, “Nomad Century: How To Survive The Climate Upheaval”, explores global migration and planetary restoration in a radical call to arms.

Vlad Voiculescu is a member of the European Parliament, health policy expert and patient advocate, who until recently has served as the Romanian minister of health. After pursuing a career in finance, Voiculescu became active in public service, serving as the Romanian Finance Minister’s chief of staff before becoming the minister of health in the Dacian Cioloș government.  He has been involved in patient advocacy, both at the national and European levels for over a decade. Voiculescu is the founder of an international network of volunteers that helped over 2,500 cancer patients receive essential medicines that were missing in Romania, a story that featured in the HBO documentary The Network’. He is also the Co-Founder of MagiCAMP, which seeks to provide support to children diagnosed with cancer and other serious illnesses. For this work, the European Parliament awarded Voiculescu its ‘European Citizen’s Prize.’

Fokko Pieter Wieringa (PhD) is Principal Scientist within the Health Department of imec the Netherlands, a leading research hub for nano- and digital technology innovation, and a part-time associate professor of Medical Technology at University Medical Center Utrecht. His career in the field of medical technology spans over three decades and he is notably (co)inventor of 26 granted patents. Within imec, Wieringa works on the development of Autonomous Therapeutic Systems. He is a core driver of the Dutch Kidney Foundations’ initiative to develop the NextKidney portable hemodialysis machine and a liaison to the international roadmap of the FDA/ASN Kidney Health Initiative (KHI) towards an implantable artificial kidney. Wieringa also chairs Work Group 3 “Breakthrough Innovation” of the European Kidney Health Alliance (EKHA). In addition, he represents the Netherlands within the worldwide standardisation organisations IEC, ISO and AAMI, regarding safety & essential performance of dialysis equipment and is a co-founder of KIDNEW.