On 19 March 2026, Active Citizenship Network organised, at the Maastricht University Brussels Hub, the EU Policy & Advocacy Workshop, “Protecting the value of prevention across Europe: focus on RSV & maternal vaccination”, made possible thanks to the unconditional support of Pfizer. During the event, independent experts from the European Confederation of Primary Care Paediatricians and the Global Foundation for the Care of Newborn Infants provided updated information on maternal vaccination and the impact of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

Key stakeholders involved in the initiative included health professionals, civil society organisation leaders and patient advocacy group representatives from nine EU Member States: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Poland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania and Spain.

Programme

Moderator: Bianca Ferraiolo, Senior Manager EU Affairs, Active Citizenship Network (ACN)

11:00 Introduction & tour the table:

Mariano Votta, Director Active Citizenship Network (ACN)

11:30 – 12:00 Educational session: overview of maternal immunization

RSV Impact in EU and the different immunization strategies that aim to directly prevent RSV maternal vaccination and RSV in infants

Laura Reali, President at the European Confederation of Primary Care Pediatricians

Q & A

12:00 – 12:45 Advocacy session: connecting research and society for a policy change

From local to global

Silke Mader, Chairwoman at GFCNI - Global Foundation for the Care of Newborn Infants

Italian RSV Observatory: Equal access to prevention

Daniela Quaggia, Senior Project Manager, Cittadinanzattiva (IT)

Q & A

12:45 – 13:00 Video-testimonies session: why we should all know about RSV

Personal stories by ReSViNET Foundation

Rachael Thomas, ReSViNET Patient Advisory Board 

Kate - Simone

13:00 – 14:00 Next steps & networking lunch

Final remarks

Tonia A. Adamidi, Pulmonologist, Tuberculologist - Director Respiratory Department at Nicosia General Hospital (Cyprus)

To download the speakers' list, click here

To watch the photo gallery on Active Citizenship Network’s LinkedIn page, click here

Click here to read the article published by our media partner

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The initiative is part of the EU project  “Protecting the value of prevention across Europe: focus on Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) & maternal vaccination”, made possible thanks to the unconditional support of