Health

In the European Union, thousands of people with serious mental disorders live isolated and secluded from society, without receiving all the care they need. At least 150 million euros of EU funds, intended to improve their situation, have been used for other purposes.

María Álvarez, data journalist at Civio, coordinated EDJNet's coverage of two relevant issues in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic: changes in mobility and nurse shortage in Europe. In this video, she presents the main challenges and the most interesting findings of the two works. Data on mobility were analysed to identify how containment measures affected people's lives; nursing personnel data was among the indices used to assess how prepared European healthcare systems were for the pandemic.

When it comes to job status and mental wellbeing, the young are the most affected by the pandemic among Europeans, reveals a recent report by Eurofound.

The EU’s vaccine distribution delays could be solved through voluntary collaborations established by pharmaceutical giants. However, civil society and several EU countries are calling for the liberalization of patents, to be able to independently produce doses and ensure vaccine coverage for the largest possible number of people. The second part of Stefano Valentino’s report on the monopolistic practices of pharmaceutical companies.

The European Union shifts between defending citizens’ health and defending pharmaceutical industry monopoly by opposing the liberalization of vaccine production. This might only delay achieving the immunisation necessary for economic recovery. We delve into this issue in a three-part investigation.

Clara Guibourg, ​data journalist at ​Journalism++/Newsworthy, ​contributed ​to EDJNet’s ​coverage of COVID-19 with an investigation on excess deaths in Europe. In this video, she presents ​how she approached the subject ​starting from summer 2020, including the type and limits of the various sources. She also points at ​some of the most interesting findings of their work​, which was notable both for its scope (most of Europe was covered) and for its scale (data on excess deaths refers to regions).​

Last year, more than half of the alerts issued by the EU's Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed concerned products from non-EU countries. If these countries are unable to adapt their production chains to EU food safety regulations over the next few years, the risks to European citizens will continue to grow.

Ángela Bernardo, ​data journalist at Civio, ​coordinated EDJNet’s large investigation on access to mental health care in Europe. In this video, she presents how her team approached the subject and what were some of the most interesting findings of their work. Mental health care, including both psy​​chological and psychiatric care, is critical to the wellbeing of plenty of people, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic – yet access to treatment is not always easy, especially in the public sector.

In many European countries, the availability of psychological treatment in the public healthcare system is inadequate or even non-existent. Barriers such as long waiting lists, co-payments and inadequate resources push people with anxiety or depression – those who can afford it – to the private system.

Pharmaceutical giants producing COVID-19 vaccines are open to collaboration with third parties, as long as they retain control on vaccine licenses and profits. EU member states complain about supply shortages, but fail to question the power of Big Pharma.