Skopje hosts the forthcoming Extraordinary Ministerial Meeting of the SEEHN

Skopje hosts the forthcoming Extraordinary Ministerial Meeting of the SEEHN

News

The forthcoming Extraordinary Ministerial Meeting of the South-eastern Europe Health Network will take place on November 18, 2014 in Skopje.

Its realization is of undisputed importance given the context of the political, economic, social and health changes that have taken place in the region since the endorsement of the SEE Health Network Memorandum of Understanding in 2008 and particularly with regards to the implementation of the Banja Luka Pledge (2011), the SEE 2020 Growth Strategy recently endorsed (22 November 2013) by the SEE Ministers of Economy, the EU 2020 Strategy and the WHO Europe Health 2020 Policy Framework (2012) as well as the European Action Plan for Strengthening Public Health Capacities and Services (2012).

The health reforms and the Whole-of-Government approach to the implementation of the WHO European Policy Framework for health and wellbeing – Health 2020, as well as the human resources for health, their mobility and the educational programmes will be in the focus of the meeting.

Considering the disastrous flooding that affected several SEEHN countries, the meeting will serve as an excellent opportunity to not only discuss emergencies, preparedness and response in the SEE region but to also create a mechanism, a Task Force, which will be put in place so to address crisis health preparedness aid in the SEEHN region. In this context, a Preparedness and response simulation exercise will be implemented at the Alexander the Great Airport in Skopje.

The participation of Dr. Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO Regional Director for Europe, will once again denote the continuous support of the WHO as a key partner in the process of Network establishing, development and functioning.

By providing for strengthened leadership, managerial and technical opportunities for the Network and further development of the regional cooperation in public health in SEE, this Extraordinary Ministerial Meeting will overview the Network activities throughout 2014, which has been an extremely intensive year for the regional collaboration for health, and will also set the trajectory for the following year.

Skopje hosts the forthcoming Extraordinary Ministerial Meeting of the SEEHN

The 34th Plenary Meeting of SEEHN starts in a week

News

Organized and hosted by the Macedonian presidency of the South-eastern Europe Health Network, the 34th Plenary Meeting will be held on 19-20 November 2014 in Skopje, Republic of Macedonia.

This event will be attended by the national health coordinators of the SEEHN Member States, the partner countries and partner international organizations, directors of the SEEHN Regional Health Development Centers (RHDC) and other key important actors.

Following the Extraordinary Ministerial Meeting of the SEEHN which will take place the day before in Skopje, the 34th Plenary Meeting will follow up on the SEEHN Ministers’ meeting and discuss the SEEHN key strategic areas of work for 2014-2020 and beyond in implementing the SEE 2020 Strategy “Jobs and prosperity in an European Perspective” under the auspices of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC). The accent will also be put on both the H2020 integration into the SEEHN policies and developments, and the outcome of the major developments, activities and challenges during the term of the Macedonian Presidency (SEEHN Presidency Report July – December 2014).

Discussing and deciding upon the future long-term SEEHN health strategy is the first crucial strategic issue to be addressed during this Plenary Meeting. Expected to be ready for the forthcoming 4th SEE Ministerial Forum in 2016, this strategy will cover primarily all SEEHN countries and will hence represent the contribution of the Network to the achievement of the objectives of the WHO Europe Health 2020 Framework Policy and the European Action Plan on Strengthening Public Health Capacities and Services.

The second important issue to be tackled is the commencement of a policy dialogue so to provide an overview of the regional efforts and cooperation towards enhancing inter-sectorial governance of health and achieving inclusive growth.

In addition, the Plenary Meeting will discuss and take important decisions regarding the preparations for the 4th Ministerial Forum and the SEEHN Secretariat establishment. Finally, it will represent the TAIEX achievements in 2014 as well as the Road Map for the SEEHN activities and the SEEHN Calendar of Events in 2015 under the Serbian Presidency of the SEEHN (01 January – 30 June 2015).