What are the European Reference Networks

In the European Union, between 27 and 36 million people live with a rare disease. The EU’s strategic objective for rare diseases and complex conditions is to improve patient access to diagnosis, information and care. To this end, the EU contributes to pooling resources across the Member States, enabling patients and professionals to share knowledge and information. This is why it is responsible for setting up and supporting European Reference Networks (known in abbreviated form as ERNs).

European Reference Networks (ERNs) are multinational networks of highly specialised healthcare providers (HCP) across Europe in thematically coherent medical domains, addressing rare or low-prevalence complex diseases or conditions requiring exceptional concentration of expertise and resources.

JARDIN aims to enhance the impact of the ERNs even further by addressing all aspects of their better integration into national healthcare systems in MS, Norway, and Ukraine.

There are currently 24 ERNs providing virtual expert consultations for people living with rare diseases or complex conditions from all member states (MS), Norway, and Ukraine, as well as support knowledge generation, professional training and education, and research.

Here is the complete list of the European Reference Networks, so you can easily find out the health scope of each one and visit their websites to learn more about them.