Operating Grants are crucial for health NGOs to continue playing their essential role in EU policymaking
processes. While Operating Grants were reinstated and their value recognized within the EU4Health
Work Programme 2022, so far, there is no formal commitment to continue this vital source of funding
beyond 2022. In September 2022, this lack of visibility leaves health NGOs with serious concerns for
their long-term sustainability and capacity to play their role, and, for some, with concerns over their
very survival.
EU Operating Grants are the sole financial mechanism that enables health NGOs to play an
independent, constructive, and meaningful role in the EU policy processes, and to respond to external
developments while ensuring that the voices of the civil society groups they represent, such as
professionals, patients, and citizens, are heard. These activities are key to safeguarding the democratic
legitimacy of the EU’s policy processes. Furthermore, Operating Grants are key for health NGOs to keep
supporting the achievement of the EU4Health programme’s objectives.
Therefore, ENSP joins other organisations in the joint statement of the EU4Health Civil Society Alliance calling for the European Commission to include Operating Grants as a financing mechanism to provide a strong foundation for the contribution of health NGOs as part of the 2023 Work Programme and beyond.
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