Objectives

The call ‘Cluster 1 – Health (Single stage – 2026)’ invites proposals across the six destinations of the Health Cluster Work Programme 2026-2027. It aims that people of all ages in the EU stay healthy, resilient, and independent even as society changes fast, arising from healthier lifestyles and behaviour, healthier diets, healthier environments, improved evidence-informed health policies, and more effective solutions for health and wellbeing promotion, disease prevention and monitoring, and rehabilitation. It also targets that people’s living and working environments are health-promoting and sustainable thanks to a better understanding of the environmental, occupational, social, sex and gender-related, and economic determinants of health, including actions on the impacts of climate change on health and on climate resilient, prepared and carbon neutral populations and healthcare systems.

Under Tackling diseases and reducing disease burden, proposals should help healthcare providers improve their ability to tackle and manage diseases, thereby reducing the disease burden on patients and enabling healthcare systems to perform more effectively, through better understanding, prevention, diagnostics, treatment, management, and cure. The call includes topics on mental health impacts of digital technologies, post-infection long-term conditions, novel vaccines for viral pathogens with epidemic potential, chronic non-communicable diseases, and sex and/or gender-specific mechanisms of cardiovascular diseases. It supports Ensuring equal access to innovative, sustainable and high-quality healthcare through safe, cost-effective and people-centred solutions, including public procurement of innovative solutions and actions to identify and address low-value care. It promotes Developing and using new tools, technologies and digital solutions for a healthy society so that health technologies, data, new tools, and digital solutions are applied effectively thanks to inclusive, ethically sound, secure and sustainable delivery, integration and deployment in health policies and in health and care systems.

Finally, it contributes to maintaining an innovative, sustainable, and competitive EU health industry by improving uptake of breakthrough technologies and innovations and supporting translational development of patient-centred health technologies.

 

Actions

This call covers the following topics:

HORIZON-HLTH-2026-01-STAYHLTH-02: Behavioural interventions as primary prevention for Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) among young people

HORIZON-HLTH-2026-01-STAYHLTH-03: Building public trust and outreach in the life sciences

HORIZON-HLTH-2026-01-ENVHLTH-01: Towards a better understanding and anticipation of the impacts of climate change on health

HORIZON-HLTH-2026-01-ENVHLTH-04: Towards climate resilient, prepared and carbon neutral populations and healthcare systems

HORIZON-HLTH-2026-01-ENVHLTH-05: Support for a multilateral initiative on climate change and health research

HORIZON-HLTH-2026-01-DISEASE-02: Innovative interventions to prevent the harmful effects of using digital technologies on the mental health of children and young adults

HORIZON-HLTH-2026-01-DISEASE-03: Advancing research on the prevention, diagnosis, and management of post-infection long-term conditions

HORIZON-HLTH-2026-01-DISEASE-04: Development of novel vaccines for viral pathogens with epidemic potential

HORIZON-HLTH-2026-01-DISEASE-09: Multisectoral approach to tackle chronic non-communicable diseases: implementation research maximising collaboration and coordination with sectors and in settings beyond the healthcare system (GACD)

HORIZON-HLTH-2026-01-DISEASE-11: Understanding of sex and/or gender-specific mechanisms of cardiovascular diseases: determinants, risk factors and pathways

HORIZON-HLTH-2026-01-DISEASE-15: Scaling up innovation in cardiovascular health

HORIZON-HLTH-2026-01-CARE-01: Public procurement of innovative solutions for improving citizens’ access to healthcare through integrated or personalised approaches

HORIZON-HLTH-2026-01-CARE-03: Identifying and addressing low-value care in health and care systems

HORIZON-HLTH-2026-01-TOOL-03: Integrating New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) to advance biomedical research and regulatory testing

HORIZON-HLTH-2026-01-TOOL-05: Pilot actions for follow-on funding: Leveraging EU-funded collaborative research in regenerative medicine

HORIZON-HLTH-2026-01-TOOL-06: Support to European Research Area (ERA) action on accelerating New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) to advance biomedical research and testing of medicinal products and medical devices

HORIZON-HLTH-2026-01-TOOL-07: Establishing a European network of Centres of Excellence (CoEs) for Advanced Therapies Medicinal Products (ATMPs)

HORIZON-HLTH-2026-01-IND-03: Regulatory science to support translational development of patient-centred health technologies