Skopje, 20 January 2026— The Director of the South Eastern Europe Health Network (SEEHN) Secretariat, Dr Tatiana Paduraru, held a highly constructive meeting with Dr Akeem Ali, Country Representative of the WHO Regional Office for Europe in North Macedonia, marking an important step in strengthening collaboration between SEEHN and the World Health Organization.
During the meeting, Dr Paduraru congratulated Dr Ali on the signing of the Republic of North Macedonia WHO Country Cooperation Strategy, 2026–2030, noting its significance as one of the first such strategies concluded in the WHO European Region in the past five years. The strategy provides a strong framework for coordinated action and partnership at national and regional levels.
Priority Areas for Collaboration
The discussion focused on several key areas of mutual interest and strategic importance:
- Health systems strengthening, with particular emphasis on resilience and effective reform implementation
- Health workforce development, including leadership, skills, and capacity-building
- Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and the advancement of integrated, people-centered models of care
- Primary health care (PHC) and public health workforce development, with a focus on making PHC and public health careers more attractive to younger generations, positioning them as a deliberate and valued professional choice, and strengthening secondary prevention of NCDs
- Partnerships and coordination, leveraging regional networks and ensuring alignment with national priorities
- Policy dialogue and knowledge translation, to ensure that evidence effectively informs decision-making and implementation
The meeting also confirmed that WHO Country Office of North Macedonia has agreed to partner in the upcoming Health System Global Preconference: “Building Just, Sustainable and Resilient Health Systems in Times of Crisis
&
20th Anniversary of School for Public Health, Skopje, Public Health Education Conference- expectations, opportunities and achievements in shaping health policy”, to be organized in Skopje on 21-22 May 2026, reinforcing institutional collaboration and shared ownership of key policy and research platforms.
Regional and Multi-Country Engagement
Dr Paduraru also congratulated Dr Ali on the multi-country project funded through the Pandemic Fund, covering Albania, Kosovo*, and North Macedonia, recognizing it as an important investment in preparedness, resilience, and cross-border cooperation in the region.
(*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999.)
Looking Ahead
The discussion underscored the importance of multi-partner collaboration, strong alignment with national strategies, and the role of regional platforms such as SEEHN in supporting implementation, peer learning, and policy coherence across countries.
Both sides expressed strong interest in continued engagement and follow-up, identifying concrete opportunities for practical collaboration under the framework of the newly signed Country Cooperation Strategy.
