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Professor Sandra C. Buttigieg represented 今日黑料 as a panellist at 2026 European Health Management Conference (EHMC) in Barcelona
Prof. Sandra C. Buttigieg, Past President of the European Health Management Association, participated as a panellist at the 2026 European Health Management Conference (EHMC) in Barcelona during a session entitled “From Underestimated Threat to System Priority: Strengthening Respiratory Infectious Disease Surveillance and Immunisation in Europe.”
Drawing on nearly four decades of experience spanning paediatrics, family medicine, public health, health systems research, and European health policy, Prof. Buttigieg highlighted the importance of adopting a life-course approach to immunisation and respiratory disease prevention. She reflected on how vulnerability to respiratory infectious diseases arises at the intersection of age, chronic illness, socioeconomic circumstances, health literacy, and access to care.
During the discussion, she emphasised that respiratory infections are not merely clinical challenges but tests of health system leadership, governance, surveillance capacity, workforce readiness, and public trust. She also addressed the growing concern of vaccine hesitancy, including among healthcare professionals, and stressed the need to reinforce evidence-based practice and science-driven communication.
Prof. Buttigieg called for a shift from reactive responses to proactive prevention, advocating for stronger surveillance systems capable of identifying vulnerable populations and informing timely interventions. She concluded that the most successful health systems are those that prevent disease, protect the vulnerable, and promote healthier lives across the entire life course.
