Miriam Dalli appointed member of EP committee on beating cancer

The Socialists and Democrats Group in the European Parliament have appointed Labour MEP Miriam Dalli to the European Parliament’s new committee on beating cancer.

The nomination follows the Maltese MEP’s track record for improved air quality, her work with health-related NGOs and the role she played in devising the Group’s strategy for EU health post-COVID-19.

“Beating cancer takes multiple actions, from prevention to early diagnosis, treatment, care and aftercare. It’s also about addressing the environmental impact on our health and having the right financial resources to strengthen support for diseases, including rare diseases, through increased research, clinical trials, best practices sharing and medical development,” Miriam Dalli said.

As a member of the S&D task force on action post-pandemic, Miriam Dalli working on the proposed EU health strategy.

“COVID-19 has exposed how unprepared the European Union to initially deal with a health emergency of the magnitude that we experienced. This was mainly due to different systems in different Member States, the lack of coordination that existed across the board, particularly in the initial weeks, as well as the dependency on third countries for many medicinal and medical products.”

This new EP committee is one of three special committees set up by the European Parliament to deal with specific issues. The setting up of the special committee on beating cancer was specifically tasked with evaluating opportunities for the EU to take concrete action, identifying legislation and other measures that can help prevent and fight cancer, and looking into the best ways to support research, among others.