HERA: Getting ready for future health emergencies

Today, the European Commission is  launching the European Health Emergency preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) to prevent, detect, and rapidly respond to health emergencies.

The HERA will anticipate threats and potential health crises, through intelligence gathering and building the necessary response capacities. When an emergency hits, HERA will ensure the development, production and distribution of medicines, vaccines and other medical countermeasures – such as gloves and masks – that were often lacking during the first phase of the coronavirus response. The HERA is a key pillar of the European Health Union announced by President Ursula von der Leyen in her 2020 State of the Union address and will fill a gap in the EU's health emergency response and preparedness.

The HERA activities will rely on a budget of 6 billion euros ($7.1 billion) from the current Multiannual Financial Framework for the period 2022-2027, part of which will come from the NextGenerationEU top-up.