Horizon Europe - Pillar II - Cluster 1 HEALTH - Destination DISEASE

In 2026-2027, the Health Cluster will pursue the following priorities:

• Addressing non-communicable diseases, including mental health, through prevention, treatment, and management, supporting initiatives such as the "Healthier Together" EU Non-communicable Diseases Initiative

• Understanding and mitigating the impacts of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss on human health and healthcare systems, supporting both the European Climate Adaptation Plan and the European Green Deal. This dual approach addresses the need to adapt to unavoidable climate impacts while contributing to broader mitigation efforts through transformative healthcare solutions.

• Building pandemic preparedness and response, including addressing antimicrobial resistance, in support of the European Health Union and the European Medical Countermeasures Strategy.

• Transforming Europe's healthcare systems to make them more effective, efficient, equitable, accessible, and sustainable, complementing the work of the European Partnership on Transforming Health and Care Systems.

• Supporting digitalisation in healthcare, leveraging the innovation potential of health data and data-driven approaches, including AI, in the context of the European Health Data Space (EHDS) Regulation.

• Developing and using innovative tools and critical technologies, such as AI and biotechnology, to secure a competitive EU health industry and technological sovereignty in the healthcare sector, in line with the EU's Artificial Intelligence Strategy, Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Strategy, and Life Science Strategy

More specifically, the Health Cluster will support the KSOs by contributing to the six expected impacts set out for the Health Cluster in the strategic plan 2025-2027, which translate into the following six destinations of the Health Cluster work programme part for 2026-2027:

Destination “Tackling diseases and reducing disease burden”: The expected impact is that healthcare providers improve their ability to tackle and manage diseases (infectious diseases, including poverty-related and neglected diseases, non-communicable and rare diseases) thereby reducing the disease burden on patients and enabling healthcare systems to perform more effectively. It can be achieved through better understanding, prevention, diagnostics, treatment, management, and cure of diseases and their co- and multi-morbidities, more effective and innovative health technologies and medical countermeasures, better ability and preparedness to manage pandemic and/or epidemic outbreaks, and improved patient safety.