Dr Tatiana Păduraru, Director of the South-Eastern Europe Health Network (SEEHN) Secretariat, highlighted the importance of regional cooperation in strengthening health-system resilience and preparedness during discussions on cross-border health security and crisis response.
With nine Member States facing many shared and interconnected challenges, including infectious disease threats, antimicrobial resistance, health workforce mobility and vulnerabilities in the supply of essential medicines and vaccines, no country can prepare for every crisis in isolation.
SEEHN provides an established platform for peer learning, information exchange, shared intelligence and coordinated regional action. By bringing countries together, the Network helps them compare experiences, identify common vulnerabilities and develop practical approaches that complement national preparedness and wider European and global mechanisms.
A key example is SEEHN’s ongoing work on regional vaccine access and supply resilience, exploring the feasibility of joint procurement and vaccine-sharing arrangements. Looking ahead, strengthening information exchange, regional technical cooperation and regular joint preparedness exercises will be essential to translating policy commitments into operational capacity.
“Regional cooperation can amplify national capacity; it cannot replace it. SEEHN’s added value is in helping countries learn from one another, share intelligence and build the trust and practical arrangements needed to act together when a crisis occurs,” said Dr Păduraru.
She emphasised that the objective is not to create parallel structures, but to connect national, regional, European and global efforts more effectively.
“Five years from now, we should not have to start negotiating cooperation from zero when the next cross-border health threat emerges. We should already know whom to contact, what information to share and how to coordinate our response. Preparedness must become routine practice, not an emergency project activated after a crisis begins.”
Through its regional cooperation and the work of its Regional Health Development Centres, SEEHN will continue supporting its Member States in strengthening resilience, advancing mutual learning and turning shared priorities into practical action.
