With a festive gathering at the Provinciehuis in Assen, the international project PREWAPHARM was officially launched in April. This European project focuses on an urgent challenge: reducing drug residues in our surface water.
Joint approach to a growing problem
Drug residues in water are a growing threat to both the environment and public health. Causes include an aging population, increased drug use and climate change. Although various regions and countries are already taking action - think of the Dutch and Flemish Green Deal Sustainable Care, the Dutch National Chain Approach to Drug Residues, or the Network Drug Residues from Water North Netherlands - an integrated, international approach and associated broad implementation is often still lacking. The Interreg-NWE project PREWAPHARM aims to change this. Therefore, in this project 18 partners from six countries (the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, France and Ireland) join forces. The two-sided approach of PREWAPHARM focuses on measures at the source: sustainable medicine use and water technology innovations, both inside and outside healthcare facilities.
From conscious prescribing to smart purification
PREWAPHARM is working on:
- A transnational strategy for policymakers that strengthens approaches to address drug residues across countries, nationally and locally.
- Better aligned collaboration between healthcare and water sectors, with shared frameworks for prevention.
- Technological innovations such as decentralized treatment at source in hospitals.
- Targeted communication campaigns that raise awareness and encourage behavior change.
The solutions will be tested in several countries and translated into practical models and toolkits. An important ambition is the establishment of the North-West European Center of Medicine Residues: a structural knowledge and advisory center where expertise, data and experiences come together.
Why it matters
When drug residues are not completely removed from wastewater, they can end up in surface water. There, they can damage ecosystems and promote antibiotic resistance - a real public health risk. Since surface water is often used as the basis for our drinking water, it is important to prevent pollution on the front end. PREWAPHARM explicitly takes such a source approach, which transcends sectors and national borders.
Concrete opportunities for innovators and end users
PREWAPHARM offers concrete opportunities for technology developers and end users within the healthcare and water sectors. During the project period, matchmaking events and roundtables will be organized to link innovative solutions directly to current practical questions at, for example, hospitals, healthcare facilities and water managers. In addition, the project acts as an information channel on European legislation and regulations on drug residues in water, enabling stakeholders to respond to changing policy frameworks and market opportunities in a timely manner. Through webinars, theme sessions and communication channels, access is provided to knowledge, pilot results and inspiring examples from home and abroad. Thus PREWAPHARM stimulates cooperation, visibility and application of innovative solutions in practice.
Ecosystem watertech
The PREWAPHARM project is an important link in making healthcare and water management more sustainable. Within the watertech ecosystem, innovations are being broadly deployed to address this challenge.