The Committee on Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS) is organizing an expert meeting on pandemic preparedness on Tuesday, March 4. This meeting is part of the ministrys budget discussions for 2025.
Concerns from the field about potential impacts of announced budget cuts on pandemic preparedness and the current threat of avian flu are the meetings primary focus.
Experts will discuss how prepared the Netherlands is for future pandemics, identifying risks and challenges. Four experts will present introductions, followed by discussions led by Senator Roel van Gurp (GroenLinks-PvdA).
Invited speakers include:
- André Rouvoet, Chairman GGD GHOR Netherlands
- Karina Raaijmakers, Board Member Dutch Healthcare Authority
- Bas van den Putte, Professor of Health Communication, University of Amsterdam
- Marion Koopmans, Professor of Virology, Erasmus MC Rotterdam
The meeting is from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM. You can attend or watch via the livestream. More information is available here.
On February 18, the VWS committee provided input for a second round of questions regarding the budget. They are awaiting responses, with discussions planned for March 4, contingent on the timely receipt of responses.
The committee prefers the VWS budget vote to coincide with the Education, Culture, and Science Budget vote.