The Health Emergency Preparedness and Response (HERA) department’s mission is to prevent, detect, and rapidly respond to health emergencies.

HERA, created in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, will anticipate threats and potential health crises, through intelligence gathering and building the necessary response capacities.

When an emergency hits, HERA will ensure the development, production and distribution of medicines, vaccines and other medical countermeasures – such as gloves and masks – that were often lacking during the first phase of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

HERA is a key pillar of the European Health Union announced by President von der Leyen in her 2021 State of the Union address and will fill a gap in the EU's health emergency response and preparedness.

HERA was launched as a new European Commission Directorate-General on 16 September 2021.