The Joint Action on REspiratory Diseases (JARED) initiative was launched by 14 EU Member States in December 2024. On 29 January 2025 the people involved got together to hold a kick-off conference at the Novotel Budapest Danube Hotel in Budapest, Hungary.
Ildikó Horváth, Hungary’s JARED coordinator, was the first to take the stage and greet the audience with a speech. She told the audience that the main purpose of the project is ‘to significantly reduce the impact of chronic respiratory diseases’. She also thanked all 14 EU Member States that joined the initiative, including the government of Hungary, for their support. The speaker went on to explain that JARED is seeking to reduce respiratory diseases by focusing on decreasing the amount of tobacco products consumed by the population, promoting vaccinations, encouraging people to go to screenings for early detection, and improving indoor air quality across Europe. To achieve that, they are relying on support from national governments, public health institutions, hospitals, and private health care providers.
Ministerial Commissioner Responsible for Directly Managed EU Funds Bernadett Petri of Hungary was also among the speakers. She called JARED ‘the flagship project’ of the Hungarian Development Promotion Office (MFOI). She admitted that previously, Hungary was lagging behind other EU countries in the utilization of directly funded projects. That was the reason why MFOI was created, to provide consultation and workshops to local companies looking to take advantage of those opportunities. Ms Petri also drew attention to potential synergies between JARED and other similar EU initiatives, such as the Health4EU and Horizon Europe, which could make the respiratory disease programme even more successful.
Krisztina Bogos, Director General for the National Korányi Institute for Pulmonology in Budakeszi, Hungary spoke next. Her hospital is the leading institution within the JARED programme. She pointed out that six per cent of all deaths in Europe can be attributed to chronic respiratory diseases, even though many of those diseases are preventable and treatable. In Hungary, respiratory diseases were the third most common cause of death in 2023, she added. The speaker went on to say that 38 different institutions and 14 EU Member States are involved in the JARED project. It is coordinated by her Korányi Institute, an organization with over 100 years of history in the field, during which time it had to tackle issues from the tuberculosis to the COVID-19 epidemic.
Stefan Schreck, Adviser for Stakeholder Relations for the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety of the EU Commission, joined the conference live via video call. He revealed the crucial information that JARED has raised €5 million in funding from EU Member States so far. He also shared that promoting health literacy is another key agenda point of the programme. Project Officer for the European Health and Digital Executive Agency Hülya Okuyan, back on stage, talked about her expertise in the project, grant management.
Meanwhile, Katalin Dudás Kószó, the Hungarian project manager for JARED, shared that 235 million people are suffering from chronic respiratory diseases worldwide, which are impacting their quality of life, and, through increased health care costs, their finances as well. JARED is looking to ‘revolutionize CRD management,’ MS Dudás Kószó proclaimed.
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