Funding for public health in Europe in decline?

Concerns have been raised in recent years in several European countries over cutbacks to funding for public health. This article explores how widespread the problem is, bringing together available information on funding for public health in Europe and the effects of the economic crisis. It is based on a review of academic and grey literature and of available databases, detailed case studies of nine European countries (England, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Sweden, Poland, and the Republic of Moldova) and in-depth interviews. The findings highlight difficulties in establishing accurate estimates of spending on public health, but also point to cutbacks in many countries and an overall declining share of health expenditure going to public health. Public health seems to have been particularly vulnerable to funding cuts. However, the decline is not inevitable and there are examples of countries that have chosen to retain or increase their investment in public health.