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NEED Summer Newsletter 2026

NEED Summer Newsletter 2026

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‍NEED is a 3-year research project aiming to identify and measure unmet health-related needs for a more needs-driven healthcare policy and innovation.

‍Newsletter #10

Summer 2026

‍We are pleased to share the latest updates from the NEED (Needs Examination, Evaluation and Dissemination) project. 

 

Over the past month, our team has primarily focused on recruiting participants for the Belgian sickle cell disease case study and preparing for the launch of the case study in France. At the same time, we have continued to strengthen the international visibility of the NEED initiative through presentations and discussions on the future of needs-based health innovation.

  

We hope you enjoy this edition! 


 The NEED team

‍Over the past month, the NEED, HUB and Deloitte team have been working intensively to recruit participants for the Belgian sickle cell disease case study. We would like to sincerely thank all patients, families, healthcare professionals, and patient associations for their warm welcome, enthusiasm, and invaluable support. Thanks to this strong engagement, the Belgian study is progressing well and the data collection phase is nearing its end. 

‍‍‍‍‍Sickle Cell Disease Awareness Day with the Sang pour Sang Association - CHU St-Pierre (left); 

Sickle Cell Disease Information and Awareness Session organized by the Council of Guineans in Belgium (right)

‍New publications

•  At the end of June, KCE published a new report applying the NEED methodology to myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome in Belgium. The report identifies key unmet health-related needs of people living with ME/CFS and provides recommendations to improve care pathways, healthcare professionals’ expertise and recognition of the condition.

•   A new factsheet introducing the NEED initiative is now available on the Healthy Belgium website. It provides a concise overview of the NEED framework and explains how it can support the identification of unmet health-related needs.  

‍‍‍NEED presentations

‍On 4 June 2026, Charline Maertens presented the NEED initiative at the European Conference on Rare Diseases (ECRD 2026) in Prague. The presentation highlighted the role of NEED in identifying and assessing unmet health-related needs across Europe. 

‍On 20 July 2026, Charline Maertens chaired a session during the High-Level Technical Workshop on Linking Healthy Ageing, NCDs and Innovation for Public Health Action, organised by the World Health Organization and Université Côte d'Azur in Nice. The workshop brought together experts to develop a shared vision for 2035, exploring how health systems can better identify and address unmet health-related needs through innovation. 

‍‍Ongoing activities

•   We have been preparing the submission dossier for the French Research Ethics Committee to launch the sickle cell disease case study in France. 

•  A comprehensive ethical analysis exploring the ethical foundations and implications of the NEED initiative is underway. Publication is expected in October 2026. 

•   We are developing an adapted NEED assessment framework and tools to better capture unmet health-related needs in paediatric populations.  

•  We are preparing the integration of the data from the Belgian Health Interview Survey into the NEED database. 

•   Irina Cleemput, Charline Maertens and Claudia Schönborn are serving as chair and co-chair of the Governance, Policy and Financing Working Group, contributing to the development of policy briefs supporting the implementation of the WHO public health innovation platform. 

‍‍NEED in the media

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The NEED initiative was recently featured in Euractiv, highlighting its growing international recognition and its potential role in advancing needs-based health innovation in line with the WHO’s strategy. Read the full article here.  

 

 

Following the publication of the new report on myalgic encephalomyelitis / chronic fatigue syndrome, the study was featured in De Ochtend on VRT Radio 1. Listen to the interview fragment here (in Dutch). 

‍‍NEED is financially supported by the Belgian Federal Science Policy (BELSPO) through the INFRA-FED call.