The TB Europe Coalition (TBEC), a regional advocacy network uniting more than 400 civil society organizations and activists from 56 countries worldwide, including 30 countries of the WHO European Region, strongly reaffirms the critical importance of reinstating operating grants for health NGOs under the EU4Health Programme.
Sustainable operating support is essential to ensure the continuity, independence, and effectiveness of civil society engagement in strengthening public health systems and advancing the tuberculosis (TB) response across Europe and beyond.
Established as an informal coalition in 2009 by TB activists to empower civil society and communities to drive the TB response throughout the WHO European Region, TBEC has played a pivotal role in strengthening national and regional civil society engagement. Over the years, TBEC has supported the establishment and capacity development of national community TB activist groups and ensured that the voices and lived experiences of people affected by TB are meaningfully reflected in regional policy-making processes led by WHO, European institutions, and donor agencies.
These efforts have directly contributed to shaping more effective, equitable, rights-based, and people-centered TB policies and programmes, while mobilizing critical resources to strengthen the operational capacity and sustainability of civil society and TB-affected communities’ organizations.
Operating grants under EU4Health have been instrumental in enabling TBEC and similar networks to provide independent expertise, facilitate cross-country collaboration, support evidence-informed policymaking, and ensure accountability in the implementation of European and national health commitments. Without structural funding, the ability of civil society to contribute effectively and sustainably to public health governance, emergency preparedness, and the TB response will be significantly undermined.
Reinstating operating grants under EU4Health onwards is therefore not only a matter of financial support but a strategic investment in resilient, inclusive, and accountable health systems. A strong and independent civil society is indispensable to achieving the EU’s public health objectives, ending TB, and protecting health security across the European Region.
TBEC supports the French initiative calling for the reintroduction of operating grants for health NGOs under the EU4Health Programme from 2026 onwards.
TBEC calls on Member States and the European Commission to urgently reinstate operating grants under EU4Health from 2026 and to protect independent civil society as a pillar of European health governance.
Public health resilience requires sustained investment in those who safeguard it. The EU must act accordingly.
#EU4Health #PatientVoice #CivilSociety #HealthPolicy
Sustainable operating support is essential to ensure the continuity, independence, and effectiveness of civil society engagement in strengthening public health systems and advancing the tuberculosis (TB) response across Europe and beyond.
Established as an informal coalition in 2009 by TB activists to empower civil society and communities to drive the TB response throughout the WHO European Region, TBEC has played a pivotal role in strengthening national and regional civil society engagement. Over the years, TBEC has supported the establishment and capacity development of national community TB activist groups and ensured that the voices and lived experiences of people affected by TB are meaningfully reflected in regional policy-making processes led by WHO, European institutions, and donor agencies.
These efforts have directly contributed to shaping more effective, equitable, rights-based, and people-centered TB policies and programmes, while mobilizing critical resources to strengthen the operational capacity and sustainability of civil society and TB-affected communities’ organizations.
Operating grants under EU4Health have been instrumental in enabling TBEC and similar networks to provide independent expertise, facilitate cross-country collaboration, support evidence-informed policymaking, and ensure accountability in the implementation of European and national health commitments. Without structural funding, the ability of civil society to contribute effectively and sustainably to public health governance, emergency preparedness, and the TB response will be significantly undermined.
Reinstating operating grants under EU4Health onwards is therefore not only a matter of financial support but a strategic investment in resilient, inclusive, and accountable health systems. A strong and independent civil society is indispensable to achieving the EU’s public health objectives, ending TB, and protecting health security across the European Region.
TBEC supports the French initiative calling for the reintroduction of operating grants for health NGOs under the EU4Health Programme from 2026 onwards.
TBEC calls on Member States and the European Commission to urgently reinstate operating grants under EU4Health from 2026 and to protect independent civil society as a pillar of European health governance.
Public health resilience requires sustained investment in those who safeguard it. The EU must act accordingly.
#EU4Health #PatientVoice #CivilSociety #HealthPolicy
