Child obesity in Cyprus is extremely high at 43% as revealed in the “State of Health in the EU and Cyprus” report that was presented this morning at the headquarters of the European Commission in Cyprus in Nicosia.
The remark was made by Dr Erica Richardson, Technical Officer at the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies who also said that more than a quarter of adults in Cyprus smoke and that one in five deaths are tobacco-related, although binge drinking is the lowest in the EU.
On the state of public health care, Richardson said that health care funding in Cyprus is characterised by low public spending and high out-of-pocket payments, noting that Cyprus has been spending less per person on inpatient, outpatient and long-term care compared to the EU average.
She added that the number of doctors in Cyprus is above the EU average, while the number of nurses is well below. Most doctors work in the private sector, while most nurses are in the public sector.
“Saving money by improving efficiency in hospitals and strengthening primary care to support the availability of more services in less costly and more appropriate settings are key to enhance health system resilience,” she concluded.
Pictured: Dr Erica Richardson, Technical Officer at the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, Honorary Associate Professor at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Ierotheos Papadopoulos, Head of the European Commission Representation in Cyprus, said in his welcome address that the Commission will present in Spring 2020 its ‘Farm and Fork’ strategy that aims to increase organic farming and reduce the use of chemical pesticides as well as of fertilisers and antibiotics in an effort to keep European food safe and high quality.
Papadopoulos also made reference to EU Green Deal‘s pledge to cut emissions that aims to reduce asthma and other respiratory conditions via the attempt to control and reduce phenomena such as atmospheric dust and smog.
On cancer, he said that the four pillars of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan are prevention, early diagnosis, treatment and follow-up care, and that Stella Kyriakides, EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety will launch the EU’s Cancer Plan on February 4th.
Pictured: Ierotheos Papadopoulos, Head of the European Commission Representation in Cyprus
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Read more:
https://in-cyprus.com/eurobarometer-half-of-europeans-cypriots-well-informed-on-cybercrime/
