On 23 March the SEE Health Network participated at the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) Second Donors Conference held in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was represented by its current Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH) by its two leading Bosnian representatives, the National Health Coordinators (NHC) Dr. Amela Lolic and Dr. Goran Cerkez.
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The RCC Second Donors Conference discussed various important issues related to the implementation of the SEE 2020 Strategy “Jobs and Prosperity in a European Perspective” endorsed in October 2013. For the first time in the history of the region and beyond health has found its appropriate place and visibility in the “Inclusive Growth” Pillar with four health objectives and respective measures.
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During the Conference plenary sessions the SEEHN Senior Representatives pointed out that:
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The network has both its political and technical dimensions and mechanisms responsible for implementing regional health actions of common interest often called as “multisectorial project”, such as health and tourism, health and education, E-health or health and security;
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The region and Europe live in time of terrorism, threats and bioterrorism in that context;
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Health has an important role to play in implementing the SEE 2020 Strategy particularly in the time of the global and European refugee crisis with the movement of thousands of migrants to the EU; health has an important role;
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The SEE ministries of health do work in line with the SEE Growth Strategy 2020 as well as for achieving the goals of the WHO European health policy framework 2020 and the EU “Health in All Policies” approach.
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The SEEHN Senior Representatives highlighted that by reducing the funding for health care and public health actions the region reduces funding for development, prosperity and progress as health is a contributor for health, wealth, well-being and prosperity rather than only a consumer, which is usually the general understanding. A sick person consumes significant resources and often mobilizes the public, family and social services.
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For all above reasons, the SEEHN Senior Representatives and the Bosnian Presidency appealed to the RCC and the donors present in Sarajevo to support several important health and public health areas that are already part of the SEE 2020 Strategy as follows:
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Cross-border Public Health and Emergencies preparedness including communicable diseases surveillance and control, antimicrobial resistance, emergencies and joint actions to mitigate natural disasters, man-made disasters as well as the issue of the huge influx of migrants to the SEE region;
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Strengthening the health systems and public health capacities to fight the epidemics of noncommunicable diseases and mental health disorders in the region (including improving quality of health services and introducing high technologies such as transplantations and improved donor collection and exchanges as started already) that are the main factor contributing to improving health and well-being and, thus, contributing to better productivity of the human/labor capacities in the region;
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Working on the health workforce outstanding issues and their mobility as the health sector is one of the biggest “employers” of the region with close to 10% of its workforce.
The South Eastern European Journal of Public Health (SEEJPH) published the “Ten years onwards: Comparison of the South Eastern European regional public health strategy 2004 and the South Eastern European 2020 strategy” article, written by Christiane Wiskow, Maria Ruseva and Ulrich Laaser, which strives to show the ongoing regional collaboration that has continuously contributing to the development of the public health in the South Eastern Europe (SEE) region since 2000 when the public health collaboration in SEE (PH-SEE) was initiated.nnThis article gives an overview of the two frameworks for regional collaboration in the area of public health, such is the framework developed in 2004 by a network of public health professionals and academics, and another one developed by the SEE Health Network as an integral part of the SEE 2020 strategy, both with reviewed situation analysis using the SWOT methodology.nnThe comparison is made regardless the differences in structure and wording, showing that both strategies are consistent in the majority of their goals and actions which includes improving equity in health with a focus on vulnerable and low-income groups, hence improving health for all, strengthening human resources for health and public health, respectively and strengthening and improving intersectoral cooperation and governance. In addition to the commonalities, there are also apparent differences between the two strategies in the aspects of social participation, regional public health information, the cross-border public health and the quality improvement.nnNevertheless, despite the time lag of nearly ten years, the commonalities of the strategies for regional public health collaboration are very significant and the differences between them are partially due to the different development context. The authors of this article are giving conclusion that the collaboration between the two networks, FPH-SEE and SEEHN particularly in the area of public health education, could be of mutual benefit and will contribute in further strengthening for the improvement of regional health information.nn nnOn the link below you can read the full article published on the SEEJPHnnTen years onwards: Comparison of the South Eastern European regional public health strategy 2004 and the South Eastern European 2020 strategy
In April 2015, in the effort to increase public engagement in policy making, the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) announced a competition “Voice of the Region”, inviting citizens to take part and give their views through essay, video or photography on issues they face in everyday life. The competition was organized in 8 rounds on different topics, enriching the debate with an invited expert view on each of them.nnAs part of the long-term fruitful cooperation with SEEHN and the importance of recognizing health and well-being as contributor to the economic growth, one theme was dedicated to health, debating on whether compatible systems in the region mean better quality of life. Giving the opportunity for everyone to write articles and be part of the competition RCC opens doors for people to inform themselves and do some health research.nnDr Maria Ruseva, an international expert on public health and health systems together with Gergana Koleva an international public health consultant had written their expert view underlining the need of involving the non-health sectors and industries in the process of achieving the goal of every country which is ensuring a better quality of life for its citizens. They say this is necessary because of the explicit risks to health certain services and products carry – risks which often materialize as diseases and impose a health and economic burden on individuals and societies only years later when damages are harder to reverse than to have had prevented in the first place. Very important point of view is recognizing the need of investing in health which contributes to sustainable growth at the same time as it limits societal exposure to health risks through appropriate policies and actions. This is the reason why in Bulgaria, the Ministry of Health recently announced a plan to introduce a tax on foods with salt and sugar content above the allowed levels. The proposal follows similar public health taxes launched in Hungary in 2011 (known as the “chips tax”) and in Finland the same year (known as the “sweet tax”). It aims to signal to food manufacturers to shift to healthier product alternatives or face declining demand, and at the same time serves as a behavioral nudge to consumers to encourage better eating habits.nn nnVladan Racic’s essay “Nothing but health…” was chosen as winner of the round 8 of the Voice of the Region Competition. His winning arguments emphasize that neither money, education or power would matter without health, and thus prevention is very important: “There is an old adage “value your health now before it’s too late””. Being the voice of the region for health, Vladan wrote that it is necessary that those in power realize that health is the most important factor of a society.nn nnOn the links below you can read:n
Under the current SEEHN presidency of the Ministry of Health of Albania, the Minister of Health of the Republic of Albania and current President of the Network Mr. Ilir Beqaj, organized a high-level Meeting and the 36th Plenary of the South-eastern Europe Health Network on December 10-11, 2015 in Tirana, Albania. Following up on the previous two Ministerial meetings held in Skopje and Belgrade, it brought into focus the topic of “Strengthening health systems for universal health coverage towards improved health and wellbeing”.nnThrough open and lively discussion, the senior representatives focused on Universal Health Coverage (UHC), the state of art in each one of the SEE countries, their challenges, actions and the potential for joint regional activities in 2016 and onwards. A number of common challenges were identified that pose barriers to achieving the goals of UHC, for example, insufficient monitoring and evaluation capacities and inadequate health workforce. The High Level Meeting requested extended technical support from WHO Regional Office for Europe which will involve both UHC and people-centred integrated health services delivery.nnThe major humanitarian crisis and the emerging health risks that Europe and the SEE region are facing due to the displacement and migration of populations across the Region, caused by natural and manmade disasters, require both stronger sub-regional presence in the regional discussions on health and other health-related issues that might affect the health systems and economies of the SEEHN Member States in the coming decades, and well-informed and well-implemented government policies.nnWith this in view, the meeting provided the high level representatives of SEEHN member states with the opportunity to share their own national challenges, needs and ideas for potential regional actions in the framework of the Network and the SEE Regional Cooperation Process and to agree on joint regional and national actions for securing universal health coverage in the context of migration and health and health security needs and challenges, thus reaffirming their political commitment to the sub-regional collaboration in the SEE.nnFinally, the intensive regional collaboration, its discussions and several important decisions paved the way towards further increasing the efficacy of the SEEHN in 2016, the next Fourth SEE Ministerial Forum in 2016 to be held in Chisinau under the auspices of the Government of the Republic of Moldova.nn
As part of the Albanian presidency of SEEHN (South East European Health Network), a two day workshop was held in Tirana, Albania, entitled Improving data for policy. Members of the Network, which includes representatives from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Israel, Montenegro, the Republic of Moldova, Romania, Serbia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, sent senior health information experts, leaders and decision-makers to participate. Principal topics were strengthening health information systems and also vital registration systems, recording essential information such as births and deaths.nnShared goals and shared challengesnnAs well as providing a forum for networking and exchanging ideas, the workshop was an opportunity to discuss models of health information networks operating in the European Region and also to enable partner countries to discuss such models for the SEEHN community, identify common ground and challenges that could be addressed collectively.nnAt the workshop, participants were unanimous in their recommendation that SEEHN countries should establish a health information network – a clear recognition of the importance of health information in establishing an evidence base for decision making in health policy. WHO will be organizing a workshop next year where countries will agree on the modus operandi and terms of reference of such a network.nn nnLinksn
On 23-24 November 2015 in Rome, Italy, upon request at the 65th session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe this September, the Italian Government and its Ministry of Health hosted a WHO High-level meeting on refugee and migrant health.nnThe attending Ministers and senior representatives of Member States of the WHO European Region discussed about the numerous public health challenges posed by large-scale movements of refugees and migrants to transit and destination countries. Ms Beatrice Lorenzin, Minister of Health of Italy, opened the meeting with a short statement conveying His Holiness Pope Francis’ welcoming to the Conference and calling on Ministers to bring wisdom, strength and peace to the discussions. She also, paid tribute to the health workers who are stepping up for the challenges of the health service regarding the constantly increasing numbers of refugees and migrants arriving at Italy’s boarders. Representatives of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the European Commission, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the International Organization for Migration also took part and attended this meeting.nnThis high-level meeting provided an opportunity for defying the main public health and health system challenges that the host countries are facing such as, preparedness for immediate response and efficient acceptance of large groups that are complex, resource-intensive and potentially socially disruptive.nnDr Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO Regional Director for Europe, highlighted that this is not a new phenomenon but the scale of migration is and the ageing population and migration are the two demographic factors that will shape the health challenges of the European Region in the 21st century. She explained that the meeting is for the public health aspects of migration – not the political or security aspects. As a WHO Regional Director for Europe, Dr Jakab stated that we as a Region must seek to ensure that all countries are adequately prepared and organized to withstand the added pressures of supporting a mass influx of people, while at the same time protecting the health of their resident populations.nnIn her concluding comments, Dr Jakab reaffirmed: “As the European public health community, we must do what we can to respond to the needs of those fleeing, to see that they are cared for in both the short and longer terms, and that our health systems are able to deal effectively and humanely with these extra demands, whilst continuing to offer full services to resident populations. We have the tools and knowledge to succeed.”nnDr Santino Severoni, Coordinator of the Public Health Aspects of Migration in Europe (PHAME) project at WHO Regional Office for Europe, addressed the changing face of migration into the European Region and the focus areas of the PHAME project. He said that the goals of the PHAME project are to reduce excess mortality and morbidity, minimize the negative impacts of migration, avoid disparities in health status and access and ensure the rights of refugees and migrants to health care.nnIn addition, the panel discussion on the public health aspects of migration defining the challenges presented by communicable and non-communicable diseases. Panellists placed the focus on health care, social services and education which must coordinate to provide effective support, particularly to the most vulnerable. They emphasized the commitment to provide universal access to health services, including services on arrival or on transit routes that are typically provided by NGOs. Dr Nedret Emiroglu, Director of the Division of Communicable Diseases and Health Security at WHO/Europe noted that refugees are more vulnerable on diseases than local population.nnClosing the meeting, Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab thanked the Government of Italy for hosting the event and noted that the Regional Office can support Member States in coordinating efforts and working on many of the tasks identified during the meeting.nnThe migration and health will also be one of the main topics of the 36th Plenary Meeting of the South-eastern Europe Health Network (SEEHN) that will take place in Tirana on December 10th, 2015.nnLinks:n
Preparing health professionals to meet the expanding health and social needs of ageing societies while enabling them to pursue rewarding career paths in their country of origin is a rising priority for governments in South-eastern Europe, whose health sectors have been weakened in recent years by external and internal migration. To discuss strategies for strengthening the technical capacity of the region’s health workforce through transformative education and solutions to the geographic imbalance, a high-level meeting organised by WHO Regional Office for Europe in collaboration with the South-eastern European Health Network (SEEHN) and hosted kindly by the Medical University of Varna, Bulgaria, took place on 9-10 November in Varna.
Attended by representatives of health and education ministries, national public health institutions, and universities from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, and the Republic of Moldova, and by WHO experts, the meeting outlined the need for improved alignment between health workforce education and training curricula on the one hand and evolving professional competencies required by new models of health care and changing public health needs on the other. Participants discussed solutions to existing barriers to cooperation between the health and education sectors and highlighted the need to establish a systematic process for health workforce planning with shared responsibility between ministries of health, employment and finance.
Other priorities emphasised in the course of the meeting included the need to shift towards evidence-based professional education and to retain faculty who can deliver it, to secure political support for enhanced teaching and training modalities, and to increase intersectoral cooperation by initiating policy dialogues on planned curriculum reforms with all stakeholders.
The vision of transformative education includes development of competencies and skills – both through basic health workforce education and through continuing professional development – that are linked to nationally and contextually relevant needs, as well as to global standards of excellence. Such education aims to maximise the contributions of all health workers.
Translating this vision into practice is essential to implementing Health 2020, the European policy framework for improving the health of populations and reducing health inequities, in which health professionals play a central role. It is also essential to implementing the SEE 2020 Strategy “Jobs and prosperity in an European Perspective”. To operationalize this vision, countries need strengthened sub-regional collaboration, continued technical support and cooperation, and greater alignment between educational institutions and the systems that are responsible for health service delivery.
The meeting in Bulgaria followed the WHO Regional expert consultations on transformative health professionals’ education and training in support of Health 2020 and a series of sub-regional technical meetings on health workforce mobility and retention in 2013 in the Republic of Moldova and in 2014 in Slovenia , which drew commitment by members of SEEHN to build a sustainable health workforce responsive to the current and future health needs of their populations.
The Jubilee Scientific Conference celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Faculty of Public Health in Pleven took place on 1-3 October 2015 under the title of “Public Health Policy and Practice”.
Divided into three plenary sessions, various conference topics were tackled in the context of both the negative public health trends that Bulgaria faces and the urgency to find appropriate solutions. Bringing into focus the epidemiology of infectious and chronic non-infectious diseases, the ethics of public health and clinical practice as well as health promotion and management, quality of health care and medical rehabilitation and ergotherapy, the Jubilee Conference has provided health professionals and managers with the opportunity to exchange valuable experience and ideas and to enhance their professional connections in the field of public health research and practice for prevention and control of public health processes.
The abstracts of the Jubilee Scientific Conference comprise the latest edition of the Journal of Biomedical and Clinical Research, issued by the Medical University – Pleven twice per year. Entirely dedicated to conference itself, this edition also features the Rector of the Medical University Prof. Dr. Slavcho Tomov who describes the Faculty of Public Health as the “leading structure within our university and a solid educational center for training of public health professionals and managers”.
Ministers from ten countries in the South-Eastern Europe Health Network (SEEHN) met in Belgrade on 22-23 June 2015, and agreed on joint regional and national actions towards securing universal health coverage. In addition to promoting an equitable Europe free of impoverishing health expenditures, the Belgrade Statement, endorsed by the ministers, also commits countries to promote and scale up political commitment to implementing Health 2020, and agree on more specific regional actions for strengthening human resources for health and coordinating cross-border support in public health emergencies, among other tasks.
“A year ago I promised the Regional Committee that I would continue to work for improved health outcomes and to link health to equity and also to sustainable development. This is happening more and more in our Region, and our decision-makers are increasingly obliged to take a wider perspective in their work. Coherent, inter-connected government policies – with a strong intersectoral component – are the way forward. This also applies to the SEEHN and individually to your countries” said Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab in her opening speech.
Ministers welcomed the opportunity to exchange views, experiences and lessons learned on the top common priorities for collaboration between the countries. Health systems strengthening, disease prevention, sustainable health financing, health information systems, information exchange, health literacy and intersectoral partnerships, implementing the international health regulations (IHR 2005), immunization rates, and preparation and response in emergencies such as the 2014 floods in the Balkans, were issues raised by countries. Discussions also included enhancing the network’s governance structures at both political and technical level.
Jointly organized by Dr Zlatibor Lončar, Minister of Health of the Republic of Serbia and current President of SEEHN, and Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO Regional Director for Europe, the meeting brought together ministers, deputy ministers and state secretaries from the 10 Member States of the South Eastern Europe Health Network.
In view of the need for further strengthening of both regional collaboration for public health and the governance structures of the South-east Europe Health Network, an ad-hoc Meeting of the Ministers of Health of the SEEHN Member Countries titled “Further Steps to Strengthening the SEE Regional Collaboration for Public Health” will be held on 21-23 June 2015 in Belgrade.
Jointly organized by the Regional Director of the WHO Regional Office for Europe, Dr. Zsuzsanna Jakab and the Minister of Health of the Republic of Serbia and current President of the SEEHN, Dr. Zlatibor Lončar the Ministerial Meeting will precede the 35th Plenary Meeting of the SEEHN to take place on 23-24 June 2015 in the same venue.
During these two important events, relevant stakeholders shall exchange views, experience and lessons learned on the top common priorities of the SEEHN Member States, including the implementation of WHO Europe Health2020 and the Health dimension objectives and measures of the SEE 2020 Strategy. By determining the next intersectoral actions for health, the high-level representatives of the SEEHN Member States and the WHO Regional Office for Europe will have an excellent opportunity to reaffirm their countries’ political commitment for strengthened intergovernmental and inter-sectoral collaboration towards health and health systems improvement in the Region.
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On May 14-15, 2015 the National Health Coordinators, Executive Committee members and technical experts of the SEE Health Network got together with the WHO Regional Office for Europe technical experts in the Preparatory Meeting of the SEE Health Network, met in Jahorina, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina to finalize preparations towards the Ad-hoc meeting of the Ministers of Health of the Members States of the SEE Health Network, and the 35th SEEHN Plenary session, to be held back to back between 21-25 June, 2015 in Belgrade, Serbia. The Ministerial meeting of the SEEHN Member States is jointly called and organized by the Minister of Health of the Republic of Serbia and current President of the Network, Dr. Zlatibor Lonchar, and WHO Regional Director for Europe, Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab.
The Preparatory meeting was kindly organized and financed by the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) in cooperation with the SEEHN Executive Committee. WHO Regional Office for Europe provided substantial political and technical support to the meeting.
Preparatory meeting scoped panel and group work over all the issues that will be taken aboard the SEEHN Belgrade event, and among others: discussing the implementation of WHO Europe Health2020, the Health dimension objectives and measures of the SEE 2020 Strategy, developing project proposals and revising the implementation report 2014; 4th SEE Health Ministers Forum, to be held in 2016; strengthened governance of the SEE Health Network; follow-up on the Ministers’ decisions from the Skopje Ministerial meeting in November, 2014; follow-up to the EC TAIEX and WHO Europe technical multi-country workshops in 2015, and many others.
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Years 2014 and 2015 have been and will be extremely intensive years for the regional collaboration for health, 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, and embedding health as separate dimension contributing to the economic development and growth; 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).
Because of the above and in view of the current 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, it is of utmost importance that this Ministerial meeting is conducted accordingly in order to provide for strengthened leadership, managerial and technical opportunities for the Network and the regional cooperation in public health in SEE to develop further.
Recognizing the seriousness of the health workforce migration in recent years and the negative effects of brain drain and brain waste, the Republic of Moldova implemented the project “Better Managing the Mobility of Health Professionals” under the coordination of the World Health Organization.
Financially supported by the European Union, the project aimed to strengthen the capacity of the Republic of Moldova to manage the migration of Moldovan health professionals and to build up a better framework for the legal migration of health workers between Moldova and the EU in order to reduce or mitigate the negative impacts of migration on the Moldovan health system as well as to ease the reintegration of returning health workers.
Engaging a big team of WHO staff, experts, national authorities, medical institutions and medical education institutions both in the Republic of Moldova and from EU countries, the project incited and contributed to a 3-year-long fruitful collaboration that provided for substantial change in the HRH area in the country.
Achievements
One of the main project achievements is the development of a national information system (SIERUSS) to monitor the mobility of health professionals and the training of approximately 800 people in HRH governance and management and in using the SIERRUS database.
Furthermore, the project provided for the development of a relevant legislative framework and drafts of new regulations related to the employment and remuneration of health workers, improvement of both curricula for medical colleges and various postgraduate training programs, accreditation of the School of Public Health and Management as well as for the development of an e-learning platform at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Nicolae Testemitanu”.
An overview of all project activities, including the series of studies conducted in several European countries and the organization of dozens of policy dialogues, workshops and an information campaign, was given during the project closing conference held in March 2015. Also presented was a 20-minute movie summarizing the context, the challenges, the results and the lessons learned through views and opinions of Moldovan health professionals and WHO official representatives.
The Republic of Moldova as a SEEHN member
The example of the Republic of Moldova, one of the 10 member States of the SEE Health Network is to be commended. That was one of the reasons why the Republic of Moldova was authorized by the SEE Health Network to lead and coordinate the regional efforts on health workforce and its mobility through its designated Regional Health Development Centre in Chisinau.
Similar activities could and should be followed by the other SEE countries in either national and/or regional way. Health workforce is a major challenge for 9 of the 10 SEE Health network countries and is one of the four health objectives of the SEE 2020 Growth Strategy “Jobs and Prosperity in a European Perspective” which is currently in implementation with the support of the Regional Coordination Council, the European Commission DG Enlargement and many more international partners.
(Croatian Ministry of Health – Institute for Transplantation and Biomedicine)
The SEEHN RHDC in Croatia is organizing jointly with TAIEX (Technical Assistance and Information Exchange Instrument of the European Commission) on April 9 and 10 in Zagreb, another important technical meeting to address key issues in deceased organ donation process (Identification and referral of potential donors; Brain death diagnosis; Donor assessment and evaluation; Family approach).
The TAIEX meeting will bring together 67 professionals from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Israel, Kosovo, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbiaand Turkey, as well as experts from EU Member States, to share best practises and improve knowledge and skills in this important health care field.
Extensive training of throughout the SEEHN Region will take place under the leadership of Croatian experts and invited experts from Italy, Spain and SEE countries.
Croatia is one of the leading countries in organ donation and transplant medicine not only in Europe but even beyond. Recently, in the beginning of April, during Easter weekend, in only 24 hours nine patients (from Croatia, Hungary and Austria) have received liver transplants and kidney transplants.
This remarkable achievement was enabled by a multidisciplinary work and efforts of coordination and transplantation teams and by the generosity of seven deceased persons and their families who consented to organ donation.
Written by several key participants in the SEEHN operation, the article underlines the importance of inter-country alliances to the economic development and social progress in the past several decades through the example of the South Eastern Europe Health Network (SEEHN), summarising its main accomplishments and tangible improvements in the regional governance for health.
The third volume of the SEEJPH is available online at the following link.
A Multi-Country Workshop on Public Health Policies on Migration and Health was held in Tirana, Albania on 19–20 March 2015, gathering close to 60 participants from Member States of the SEEHN[1], Kosovo*[2] and Turkey.
Organized by the Technical Assistance Information Exchange instrument of the European Commission (TAIEX) in cooperation with the Regional Health Development Centre (RHDC) on Surveillance and Control of Infectious Diseases and Institute of Public Health, Albania, the Workshop brought together experts of different sectors from SEEHN countries, Kosovo*, Turkey, EU Member States and International organizations (including WHO Europe) who shared and discussed knowledge, experiences and challenges in terms of establishing a regional cross-sectorial and cross border practical approach to migration and public health policies.
The workshop resulted in developing the following steps for further regional actions to progress in this area, in particular at the SEEHN Regional level:
the need to define and agree on a “minimum” package of good health services to be provided for irregular migrants, who represent a particularly vulnerable group, in the countries of the SEEHN region;
the SEEHN should establish a working group to identify, define and agree on the key data essential for action at the Regional level; the Member States of the SEEHN should provide detailed information on the available data in their respective countries;
the SEEHN should, on the basis of the data provided, assess the situation, and propose, if appropriate, solutions, in particular cross-border solutions both within the SEEHN Region and with the neighbouring countries, in particular the EU Member States, in view of the vocation of the SEEHN countries to join the EU;
the SEEHN should facilitate an in-depth exchange of information on the health services provided by the “Asylum Centres” in the SEEHN Region as well as in the neighbouring EU Member States with a view to optimise these services both for the benefit of the users and of the health systems of the countries;
the SEEHN should request in particular Romania to present a health and economic benefits assessment of the use of “health mediators” with a view to develop possibly a common approach at the SEEHN level.
The need to develop strong partnerships within the SEEHN as well as with the neighbouring countries from which in particular irregular migrants (unplanned migration) originate is essential for a comprehensive and effective policy in this area in particular from the public health perspective. In this context the need to exchange experiences and to develop partnerships was stressed, including in relation to the possibility of impacting on the health services in the SEEHN countries as well as at Regional level.
[1] SEE Health Network: The SEE Health Network was established in partnership with the Council of Europe and the WHO Regional Office for Europe within the framework of the Stability Pact Initiative for Social Cohesion. It comprises of Republic of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina2, Republic of Bulgaria, Republic of Croatia, Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Republic of Serbia, the State of Israel and The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
[2] Kosovo*: KS=Kosovo*; this designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence
[3] Ministry of Civil Affairs on the behalf of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s health authorities: Ministry of Civil Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Federal Ministry of Health, Ministry of Health and Social Welfare of the Republic of Srpska and Department of Health and Other Services of Brčko District
TAIEX Multi-country Workshop on PH policies on Migration and Health, March 2015, Tirana (photo credit: SECIDS)
Organized under the 2014/2015 Biennial Collaborative Agreement (BCA) between the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization, the Workshop successfully introduced and established the basic guidelines for the self-assessment process in the presence of Dr. Elke Jakubowski, Programme Manager for Public Health Services at WHO Europe, Dr. José María Martín Moreno, WHO consultant and professor of public health at high ranking European universities and Dr. Maria Ruseva, WHO consultant.
The video made to summarize the pleasant and highly productive atmosphere during the workshop
In advance of the 18thEuropean Health Forum Gastein (EHFG), this year themed “Securing Health in Europe – Balancing priorities, sharing responsibilities” which will take place in Austria´s Gastein Valley from 30th September to 2nd October 2015, the International Forum Gastein is welcoming applications for the European Health Award 2015. The Award of €10,000 will be sponsored by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Health and FOPI, the association of research-based pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in Austria.
Designed to honour initiatives aiming to improve public health or healthcare in Europe, the European Health Award was established in 2007 to promote cross-border cooperation, multi-country working and the development of sustainable, innovative and transferable initiatives which address current challenges such as disparities in health status, access to services and the provision of treatment within Europe.
The Country Day aims at improving WHO Europe’s interactions with and relevance for the member states of the South-Eastern Europe Health Network (SEEHN). It aims to build upon the ongoing collaboration and ensure a more coordinated approach to the existing opportunities. Objectives of the Day are also to highlight the issues faced by the sub-region and to discuss the provision of policy advice and targeted technical assistance that address the networks needs by fulfilling sub-regional as well as national commitments so to ensure the delivery of agreed results.
The Country Day is designed to provide a forum for in-depth discussion on the health issues and priorities of the sub-region, the importance of the network to the WHO as well as an analysis of the technical programs’ implementation in the selected priority technical areas. It will address previous successes and future opportunities on working in and with the SEEHN at both strategic and operational levels.
Organization and all preparatory work for the SEEHN Country Day are coordinated by the Strategic Relations with Countries unit (SRC) in the Regional Directors Office.
The Country day is open to all staff members and will specifically involve Divisional Directors, Program Managers and the SEEHN Co-Opted Member and founder of the SEEHN, Dr Maria Ruseva. Heads of WHO Offices will also be linked in to participate directly in the discussions by sharing their experiences with members of the SEEHN at country level, and to contribute to the discussion on future collaboration. The meeting will be held in a plenary session with presentations and round table discussion.
The Regional Health Development Center on Mental Health in SEE, based in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, published its 4th Newsletter.
Product of fruitful cooperation in the area of mental health between the SEEHN Member States and its partner countries and organizations, as Mr. Sredoje Nović, Minister of Civil Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, says in the Editorial, the fourth issue begins by presenting the achievements of the SEEHN Extraordinary Ministerial Meeting held in November, 2014 in Skopje under the Macedonian Presidency.
Overviewing the regional activities of the SEEHN in the area of mental health in 2014, including the development of the Regional Program 2014-2024 of the RHDC on Mental Health in cooperation with the SEEHN member countries, the Newsletter also describes the separate country activities undertaken in this area.
The fourth issue is available at the following link.
ence plenary sessions the SEEHN Senior Representatives pointed out that:
Working on the health workforce outstanding issues and their mobility as the health sector is one of the biggest “employers” of the region with close to 10% of its workforce.
