Funding calls worth almost €44m have opened today under the EU4Health programme to support decisive action in the fight against cancer and chronic diseases, and to prepare national health systems for future pandemics.

A total of 13 calls aim to fund ambitious projects to support the translation and best use of research evidence to improve healthcare systems and patient outcomes. Applications are open to organisations across all sectors, including research, academic and healthcare institutions.

Each call will fall under one of the four ‘strands’ set out in the 2021 work programme, with the majority of calls focusing on the areas of disease prevention, health promotion, and a particular emphasis on cancer.

Full details on each call and a suite of resources to guide you through the application process are available on the European Commission funding and tenders portal. Applications will close on 25 January 2022, with results due to be published in Autumn 2022. 

To address EU-wide health priorities, this round of calls will specifically fund key areas including:  

  • infection prevention control
  • computer-aided drug repurposing
  • health data for research and secondary use of health data 
  • studies on assisted reproduction based on haematopoietic stem cells 
  • genomics in the area of cancer diagnostics and treatment 
  • the impact of the pandemic on mental health  

The HRB will host a webinar on November 5 to explain more about these funding opportunities and provide a better understanding of EU4Health. During the webinar, our EU4Health expert will lead discussion and take questions. Visit our news and twitter page for more information coming soon. 

Who can apply?

EU4Health funds projects by institutions, professional bodies and organisations in Ireland. Individuals are not eligible to apply. Specifically, this wave of calls are open to research, academic and educational institutions, hospitals and public health authorities. View the full list of entities that are eligible to apply on our dedicated EU4Health information page

For one-to-one advice and guidance: 

Please contact Amanda Daly, National Contact Point (NCP) for EU4Health by email to amanda.daly@hrb.ie or call +353 85 8620938, for dedicated end-to-end support developing your proposal and guidance with all aspects of your submission including: 

  • identifying the right call for your project 
  • finding project partners
  • navigating the application process and writing your proposal 

Background on EU4Health & our role in the programme:

The EU’s new health programme will run from 2021 to 2027 with an overall budget of €5bn to support reform of national health systems, crisis preparedness, disease prevention and digitalisation. Learn more on what EU4Health aims to achieve.

As Ireland’s lead funding agency in health research, we are committed to ensuring that data and evidence are used in policy and practice to overcome health challenges, advance health systems, and benefit society and the economy. As part of this commitment, we are taking a lead role in providing dedicated advice and guidance to Irish institutions and organisations across all sectors who wish to apply for funding under the EU4Health programme.