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To finance this action, the Commission is mobilising €3 billion from the EU budget, of which €2.7 billion will
be channelled through the Emergency Support Instrument and €300 million though the rescUE medical
equipment capacity. Additional contributions will be possible from Member States and also individuals,
foundations and even crowdfunding. 1

4.3 Health@work

In a logic of ecosystems, the working environment for man must also be thought of as an environment
to be protected, because it is still a place of danger for the health and protection of the human being.
Looking at man in his habitat, therefore, we must pay attention to the workplace, the context in which he
spends many of his daily hours and understand what health needs are related to work. The needs have
become increasingly complicated and should involve not only “defensive” but also active approaches,
promoting individual, collective and environmental health.

Damage is still measured by counting occupational accidents and illnesses, which, by the way, is only
possible in 2/3 of the working population. For the future, we can expect an increase in the attempt to
‚hide’ accidents, and an increase in‚ multifactorial’ psycho-physical pathologies, of not simple causal inter-
pretation, more and more on the border between work and extra-work life (and this obviously also with
regard to cancer).

In the meantime, dramatic situations persist in various areas of the country involving workers and citizens,
with productions that are not only harmful to those who work but also polluting and a source of
damage - current and future - to health for the citizens of those territories.

Society as a whole, in addition to thinking about the most frequent common diseases and their mana-
gement and sometimes prevention, should also pay attention to the consequences of work on health. It
is necessary to invest in the culture of prevention: every penny spent on prevention produces successes
and savings not only in terms of health but also economically. Yet in a large part of the planet, and also in
our country, it is difficult to accept this awareness and to deal with it consequently, bearing in mind that
people’s health, their life expectancy, their hope of recovery from (and prevention of) disease, are inextri-
cably linked to the social condition and the ‚health’ and justice of the country in which they live. 2

1 https://ec.europa.eu/info/live-work-travel-eu/health/coronavirus-response/public-health_en
2 https://www.puntosicuro.it/sicurezza-sul-lavoro-C-1/tipologie-di-contenuto-C-6/sorveglianza-sanitaria-malattie-profes-
sionali-C-60/l-evoluzione-del-lavoro-delle-necessita-per-la-tutela-della-salute-AR-18724/