Public health: Community action programme on health promotion, information, education and training 1996-2000

In adopting the recommendation for second reading by Mr Christian CABROL (UPE, F) with a view to the adoption of a Community programme on health education, the European Parliament indicated that the Council's common position was too general. Parliament felt, in particular, that too much emphasis had been placed on the intergovernmental aspects of the programme and that the reduction of the financial framework by ECU 5 million was not appropriate. In this context, the recommendation reincorporated the amendments adopted at first reading that aimed to: - restore the financial framework to its original level (ECU 35 million instead of the ECU 30 million proposed by the Council); - do away with the intergovernmental aspects of the programme (relating mainly to the implementation of the programme by the Member States); - ensure that the European Parliament was informed of the actions undertaken; - ensure the participation of and cooperation with certain relevant organisations such as those working in the field of social integration (both governmental and non-governmental); - clarify and strengthen the actions to be implemented, particularly: . establishing a European study programme designed to harmonise Members States' scientific data in the field of health, . promoting and supporting research programmes relating to epidemiology, . examining the role of nutrition in the etiology of diseases, . promoting health education in school curricula and developing exchanges of experience (support for the European Network of Health-Promoting Schools), . supporting the assessment of projects relating to health education aimed at young people and adolescents who have left the school system in settings such as sport and leisure activities, . promoting information on sexuality and contraception, . supporting preventive measures in the field of allergies, . supporting centres disseminating information about the rational use of medicines, . supporting measures to promote regular physical activity, . supporting studies on the ageing of the population in Europe; - promote measures to better target the sections of the population for whom the programme is most important: those disadvantaged as a result of their vulnerability or social exclusion, the elderly, migrants and those living in unfavourable areas. �