The European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) is a

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

association registered and headquartered in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. Its membership consists of 42 non-profit organisations active in

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...

in 13 European countries including 10 EU Member States. EPHA has members in Estonia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Malta, Sweden, Denmark, UK, Switzerland, and Serbia. Sixty percent of EPHA Members are European federations and as such EPHA represents organisations across the EU and in every Member State. EPHA's mission is to bring together the public health community, to provide thought leadership and facilitate change, to build public health capacity to deliver equitable solutions to European public health challenges, to improve health and reduce health inequalities. EPHA’s aim is to collate the perspectives from the many sectors its members represent and contribute them to European policy dialogues.

Structure

EPHA is an international

non-profit organisation A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

('' NL:'' IVZW, '' FR:'' AISBL) under Belgian law. Its statutes are approved by its General Assembly, composed of representatives of its members. EPHA is composed of two governing bodies, the General Assembly and the Management Board. Both are chaired by the President of EPHA. The General Assembly is the governing body through which members discuss and decide on the strategy of EPHA on the basis of proposals from the Management Board. The General Assembly consists of all members, each entitled to a vote at the General Assembly. Only members who have duly paid their membership fees can exercise their right to vote. As of June 2024, Paolo Lauriola is the President of the board.

History

The European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) organisation was established on 12 September 1993 when the

Maastricht Treaty The Treaty on European Union, commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty, is the foundation treaty of the European Union (EU). Concluded in 1992 between the then-twelve Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Communities, ...

of 1992 was close to final ratification which for the first time gave the European Community responsibilities in health protection. The

European Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...

Amsterdam Treaty The Treaty of Amsterdam, officially the Treaty of Amsterdam amending the Treaty on European Union, the Treaties establishing the European Communities and certain related acts, was signed on 2 October 1997, and entered into force on 1 May 1999; i ...

Article 152 extended EU competence to ''promoting'' health of European citizens, in addition to ''protecting'' it as in Article 129 of the

Controversy

In February 2024 complaints of

nepotism Nepotism is the act of granting an In-group favoritism, advantage, privilege, or position to Kinship, relatives in an occupation or field. These fields can include business, politics, academia, entertainment, sports, religion or health care. In ...

toxic work culture A “toxic workplace” is a colloquial metaphor used to describe a place of work, usually an office environment, that is marked by significant personal conflicts between those who work there. A toxic work environment has a negative impact on an o ...

and organisational mismanagement were made public. A subsequent investigation was launched through an external legal firm. Among other issues, the investigation focused on the decision of

Director General A director general, general director or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''general directors'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'') is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer ...

Milka Sokolović to hire her husband, Aleksandar Sokolović, as a director within the organisation. At the end of March 2024, when the investigation was due to conclude, it was announced that the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Vice-President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

Treasurer A treasurer is a person responsible for the financial operations of a government, business, or other organization. Government The treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The treasure ...

and an additional

Board Member A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulations ...

would resign from their positions. This left just two board members still in office. Additionally, one of the organisation's

Directors Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

announced their resignation due to the controversy and a “lack of confidence” in the external investigation and all but one of the organisation's expert advisors also stepped down. The organisation was described by ''

Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American political digital newspaper company founded by American banker and media executive Robert Allbritton in 2007. It covers politics and policy in the Unit ...

'' as "the most chaotic NGO in town".

References

External links

* {{Authority control Public health organizations Organizations established in 1993 Medical and health organisations based in Belgium European medical and health organizations Health and the European Union

Structure

History

Controversy

See also

References

External links