The European Commission has decided to finance a new medical emergency stockpile in Finland. More than 60 million euros have been earmarked for the project.
Minister of Social Security Sanni Grahn-Laasonen (NCP) and Interior Minister Mari Rantanen (Finns) made the announcement at a press conference on Wednesday.
The new stockpile will contain materials for 15,000–30,000 patients, depending on the situation. The materials to be procured are medical supplies for use by first responders and surgeons, as well as radiation metres, for instance.
The stockpiles are shared by all EU countries. Any member state can request help from the EU’s Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC).
The project extends through September 2026. According to Grahn-Laasonen, the first materials will be ready to be send in early 2025.
New reserve worth €63m
The new stockpile, worth nearly 63 million euros, complements a previously announced preparedness stockpile project whereby protective and measuring equipment, medicines and antibodies are being stored in Finland for chemical, biological, radiation and nuclear accident situations.
“The new funding will primarily be used to purchase medicines and other healthcare supplies, which means that the healthcare sector has an important role to play in the project. The project will facilitate EU-level preparation for various threats to the health of the population,” Grahn-Laasonen said.
The price tag of the first project was 240 million euros, but the newly announced medical stockpile raises the total spend to more than 300 million euros.
Forest fires, earthquakes and war
At the press conference, the ministers said that materials in the first stockpile are currently being stored. Some of them may be available for use early next year.
Similar reserves have been set up in Croatia, France and Poland.
According to Rantanen, Finland received funding for the new reserve because it has been very successful in assembling the original stockpile.
The new medical emergency stockpile is part of RescEU, which strengthens Europe's preparedness for various disasters. Last summer, RescEU was used to help extinguish forest fires in several European countries, for instance. It has also delivered assistance to earthquake-affected areas of Turkey and Syria, as well as to Ukraine since the start of Russia's invasion.
“Today's strategic reserve, funded and constituted through the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority, will reinforce the EU's capacity to respond fast in case of potential serious cross border health threats,” the European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Stella Kyriakides of Cyprus, said in a statement on Wednesday.
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