Skopje, 2 September 2026 – The South-Eastern Europe Health Network (SEEHN) marked its 25th anniversary, celebrating a quarter-century of regional cooperation, solidarity and shared commitment to better health across South-Eastern Europe. The event was jointly organized with with the Embassy of Romania to the Republic of North Macedonia and the „Dobredojde Macedonia Welcome Centre”.
Established with the signing of the Dubrovnik Pledge on 2 September 2001, SEEHN has grown into a unique intergovernmental platform connecting Member States, health institutions, professionals and policymakers across the region. Over the past 25 years, the Network, together with the World Health Organization, the European Union and other international partners, has promoted knowledge exchange, capacity building and cooperation across key public health and health system priorities.
As part of the SEEHN 25th Anniversary celebrations, representatives of Member States, partners and friends of the Network came together in Skopje for a Coffee Morning Reception, in Skopje, home to the SEEHN Secretariat.
The gathering provided an opportunity to reflect on SEEHN’s journey, recognise the people and partnerships that have sustained the Network, and look towards the future of regional health cooperation. The programme included opening remarks, anniversary reflections, video messages from international partners and SEEHN Member States, and a networking reception.
Welcoming participants, Mr Sasho Klekovski, Minister of Health of the Republic of North Macedonia, highlighted SEEHN’s role in connecting health institutions, professionals and policymakers and transforming regional solidarity into practical cooperation. As the host country of the SEEHN Secretariat, North Macedonia reaffirmed its commitment to the Network and to the principles of regional partnership and solidarity. Also, Minister Klekovski highlighted one of the important public health messages: ”The experience of the past quarter of a century has shown us a simple but powerful truth: diseases do not recognize borders, and neither should our commitment to protecting health.”
The anniversary is being marked during the Romanian Presidency of SEEHN (July 2026 – June 2027). Representing the Romanian Presidency, Ms Veronica Ciolca, Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of Romania to the Republic of North Macedonia, reaffirmed Romania’s commitment to working with Member States, the SEEHN Secretariat and partners to build on the achievements of the past 25 years and further strengthen regional health cooperation.
She mentioned the priorities of the Romanian Presidency of SEEHN as well as the strategic vision and the political milestones, emphasizing that digital transformation and strengthening the health workforce and nursing leadership are key to successful healthcare and concrete results.
Dr Tatiana Păduraru, Head of the SEEHN Secretariat, reflected on the Network’s transformation from an initiative created during a challenging period for the region into an enduring community built on trust, dialogue and cooperation.
“Twenty-five years is much more than an anniversary. It is a quarter of a century of countries choosing cooperation over isolation, dialogue over distance, and solidarity over working alone,” Dr Păduraru said.
She emphasised that one of SEEHN’s most important achievements is the community of policymakers, health professionals, experts, institutions and partners built across the region over the past quarter-century.
The anniversary comes at a time when health systems across the region are being reshaped by health workforce pressures, demographic change, digital transformation, growing mental health needs, climate-related challenges and renewed demands for health security and emergency preparedness.These priorities will be central to the work of the Romanian Presidency of SEEHN and the Member States, including preparations for the next SEEHN Ministerial Forum, which will provide an important opportunity to reaffirm political commitments and define priorities for the next phase of regional health cooperation.
SEEHN will continue to strengthen cooperation and peer learning among Member States, support its Regional Health Development Centres, and bring political commitment and technical expertise together around practical responses to common health challenges.
Twenty-five years after the Dubrovnik Pledge, SEEHN remains anchored in the principles on which it was founded: trust, solidarity and partnership, and the recognition that the health of each country is closely connected to the health of the region as a whole.
