Operating grants should provide support to the functioning of certain NGOs during 2022 for activities including awareness raising on various health aspects, communication and dissemination, capacity building and training, expert collaboration and networking.

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) play a major role among others in providing aid atUnion, national and local levels. In the field of health, and specially public health, they provide services directly to patients and individuals being in some cases in the first line of action also during emergencies. NGOs are also essential in bridging the gap between institutions and patients and facilitating communication at national and Union level. These organisations are not-for-profit and therefore necessarily rely on funding from different sources, for instance private donations, national or international contributions.

NGOs’ expertise and contribution is expected to be of added value in relation to NCDs, health determinants, ageing society, vulnerable groups and rare diseases. Poor nutrition, physical inactivity, obesity, tobacco use and harmful use of alcohol are risk factors common to other chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases may also require attention.

Patients and health systems need to have access to sustainable, efficient, equitable, and affordable high-quality medicinal products, including in the cross-border context, to fully benefit from those medicinal products on the basis of transparent, consistent, and patient-oriented medical information. Furthermore, there is a need to protect people in vulnerable situations, including those suffering from mental illness and those living with or most affected by communicable or non-communicable diseases and chronic diseases, and to promote activities, which address and prevent the collateral impact of health crises on people belonging to such vulnerable groups and actions that improve mental health.

The beneficiaries are expected to further demonstrate in their proposals the Union added value of their activities and commit to deliver concrete results such as: online materials, webpages, manuals and tools on case studies promoting health in schools, factsheets and relevant literature, materials for teachers on health literacy, and assistance and promotion of twinning with other European schools; capacity-building and training activities to reduce the impact of risk factors for noncommunicable diseases; new approaches to promote healthy and sustainable diets; expert guidance and peer-to-peer connections; and collaborate in shared areas of activity. Some of the beneficiaries’ activities are expected to contribute to the implementation of non- legislative policy initiatives and/or the implementation of relevant Union health legislation.