What roles were played by public health agencies in Europe during the COVID-19 pandemic? Cross country analysis

A widely-used definition of public health as ‘the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organised efforts of society’ was put forward by Donald Acheson in 1988 (Acheson, 1988). The broadness and ambiguity of this definition shows that it is difficult to draw a line around the services, functions and institutions which are categorised under the umbrella of public health. While this was already true before COVID-19, the pandemic has shone a spotlight on the variety of action areas to be tackled by public health agencies. This article aims to outline the roles of public health agencies and institutions in selected European countries, illustrated by their actions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The focus is on the early phases of the pandemic when countries had to rely on their pre-existing public health infrastructure.