Abstract
The Covid-19 pandemic is showing that it is key to be prepared to manage health emergencies, also from a legal point of view. However, the identification of sound legal approaches to tackle public health risks/events has not been properly addressed so far. This is a gap that must be filled, as legal preparedness (LP) is a critical component of health security. Indeed, LP facilitates the prevention, detection and response to public health emergencies (c) in line with regional and international standards. For this reason, HELP aims to examine the concept of LP, and understand how it can enhance policies and activities to prevent and respond to future health crises, especially when they have a cross-border nature. Building upon the conceptualization of LP, the project will outline the core international and regional obligations in the context of PHEs and assess the contribution the Italian legal systems may give thereto. Concerning the regional dimension, particular attention will be paid to the African context, and more specifically to the cooperation between the EU and the African Union (AU). There are a number of reasons for this. Firstly, the geographical proximity of Africa, which increases the risk that infectious disease spread to Europe. Secondly, the strategic importance of the relations with the African continent. Third, the contribution that close cooperation with the AU can bring to a high level of protection of health. Finally, the project will assess Italy’s capacity in terms of PHEs-LP, and analyse how to enhance Italy’s ability to contribute to its development in the regional and international contexts, also in light of the ongoing discussions on legal reforms. Particular attention will be paid to the developments at the international level that can impact on the national obligations such as the current negotiations on a revised IHR and on an international pandemic treaty, as well as the rich array of human rights cases revolving around prevention, mitigation and management measures adopted to contrast the COVID 19 pandemic. At the EU level, the possible creation of a EU Health Union will specifically be addressed. The project's goal is to increase awareness among Italian policy-makers and practitioners on the relevance of PHEs-LP, to make them better equipped to fully implement the international and regional obligations already present and to fruitfully contribute to the discussion on the legal reforms mentioned above. Lastly, HELP will address the importance of inclusiveness in decision-making processes to guarantee participation rights of civil society and other relevant stakeholders. The project is thus fully in line with the 2030 Agenda for SDGs (SDG 3 on health and wellbeing, SDG 16 on inclusive institutions) and with the PNRR (Mission 6 on Health).
Dettagli del progetto
Responsabile scientifico: Giacomo Di Federico
Strutture Unibo coinvolte:
Dipartimento di Scienze Giuridiche
Coordinatore:
Scuola Superiore Di Studi Universitari E Perfezionamento Sant'Anna(Italy)
Contributo totale Unibo: Euro (EUR) 89.925,00
Durata del progetto in mesi: 24
Data di inizio
28/09/2023
Data di fine:
28/02/2026
