SEE Health Network joins the celebration of the European Immunization Week to highlight the crucial importance of vaccination in the modern world. Vaccination is a public good and it is a right and responsibility of every citizen and we all as society and communities can benefit from. This year the work of the nurses and midwifes, who are at the forefront of the vaccination points and are a trusted source of information on vaccination, is highlighted.
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SEEHN Member States at national level show a widenvariation in vaccination coverage and share common challenges that are similarnto the rest of the European countries related to vaccination coverage,navailability, quality of vaccines, etc.
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In this context, SEEHN placed high on the agenda tonstrengthen immunization. Steady efforts have been channeled over the last 3nyears in partnership with WHO EURO and the SEEHN RHDC on Communicable Diseases hostednby Albania – SECID.
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Governments within the South-eastern Europe HealthnMinisterial Meeting on Immunization, that took place in Podgorica, Montenegro,non 20 February 2018,endorsed a Statementnof Intent that reiterated commitment to the European Vaccine ActionnPlan.
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Furthermore, over the last couple of years SEEHN received comprehensive guidance from WHO EURO and SEEHN RHDC SECID over a series of Regional meetings on the development of a regional roadmap providing a foundation upon which joint action, partnership and collaboration can be strengthened and scaled-up to tackle shared immunization programme challenges.
SEE Health Network extends the sincerest gratitude and appreciation to the nurses and midwives for the work that they are doing to keep the world healthy! SEE Health Network strongly supports the investment in nursing and midwifery as an investment in Health for All and Leaving No One Behind! On behalf of 7 April 2020, World Health Day We asked nurses from our member states to give their VOICE on: What does it mean to be a nurse? THANK YOU for keeping the world healthy!
Thenincreasing pressure on the countries related to COVID-19 pandemicndetermined the organization of a Regional TC on 24 Marchn2020 at 11:00 CET, at the initiative and with the support of Dr Mira Jovanovski-Dasic,nHead of SEEHN Secretariat and Dr Silvia Bino, Director of SEEHN RHDC onnCommunicable Disease. It was tailored to the nine Member States of thenSouth Eastern Europe Health Network (SEEHN).
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The goal of the TC was to discuss the challengesnthat SEEHN Member States are facing in the response to COVID-2019 (quantity ofnavailable tests, capacity for testing, capacity for isolating measures, lack ofnconsumable material; lack of human resources, the need for mobilization ofnadditional expertise. etc.), in order to agree on regional actions needednin addition to the national responses each country is already takingnindividually.
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Additionalnto the SEEHN Members states experts, the TC has been joined by Kosovo* asnobserver and some of the SEEHN National Health Coordinators.
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The TC wasnalso joined by Dr Dorit Nitzan, Coordinator,nHealth Emergencies and Operation Management, Dr. Lucianne Licarinand Mr Robb Butler from WHO EURO.
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Dr Hans HenrinP. Kluge, WHO RegionalnDirector for Europe wasnable to join to greet and highlighted a core idea that health workers are doingntheir job for everyone not only for their country. It is a stress test for ournsolidarity: “We all are in this together united!”
nn”In the days and weeks ahead, we expect to see the number of COVID-19 cases, the number of deaths, and the number of affected countries climb even higher. WHO has been assessing this outbreak around the clock and we are deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity, and by the alarming levels of inaction. We have therefore made the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterized as a pandemic”- Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
The Round Table is organized by the SEEHN RHDC on NCDs from Montenegro and SEEHN Secretariat under the Montenegro SEEHN Presidency. The specific objective of the meeting is to review the national policies, recommendations and guidelines in SEE Health Network member states. (Western Balkans and beyond),regarding children nutrition with focus on the preschool and school facilities and to review the possibilities to control the impact of marketing of food and non-alcoholic beverages high in calories, free sugars, salt and saturated fats on children. This Round table is the first activity in a row of activities with overall objective to reduce childhood malnutrition by focusing especially on obesity and to enable healthy lifestyle choices from the early age among children. The meeting is attended by experts involved in the specific work in policies development and promotion in the nine SEEHN member states.
Dr. Mira Jovanovski Dasic, Director ofnSEEHN Secretariat met with H.E. Mr Dragan Jacimovic, Ambassador of Bosnia andnHerzegovina to the Republic of North Macedonia.
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Dr. Jovanovski Dasic expressed herngratitude to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Member State of the SEE Health Network, fornthe strong support and active participation to SEEHN activities over the past years.n
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She presented the structure of thenNetwork, the ongoing activities under the Montenegro Presidency and the roadnmap for future ones.
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It was also highlighted that the SEEnHealth Network is continuously committed to Regional cooperation and PublicnHealth issues and that SEE Health Network is evolving to best serve SEEHNnmember States (Western Balkans and beyond).
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She also gave an overview of the worknof the SEEHN Regional Health Development Centers (RHDCs) and particularlynacknowledged the importance of the RHDC on Mental Health based in Sarajevo,nBiH. nnIn a friendly atmosphereninformation on the current areas of interest regarding the strengthening of thentechnical possibilities of the Network have also been exchanged. nnnn
A great meeting at SEEnHealth Network Secretariat premises today with H.E. Dr. Georg Woutsas, AustriannAmbassador.
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Director of the SEEHNnSecretariat Dr Mira Dasic presented SEEHN, its organization and its recent activitiesnand achievements, highlighting eventual opportunities to be built upon towards thenimplementation of the Chisinau Pledge and 2030nAgenda for Sustainable Development.
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The discussion included currentnand future plans of SEEHN, comprising the readiness to continue working onnhealth issues and strategic partnerships in the SEE Region (WesternnBalkans and beyond).
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One particular fruitful partnershipncooperation between SEEHN and European Health Forum Gastein from Austria hasnbeen underlined.
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Specific attention hasnbeen put also on the air pollution in the Region and the eventual modalities onnhow to contribute to the government’s efforts to decrease the threat to thenpopulation health.
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Finally, interlocutorsnexchanged opinions regarding the existing possibilities on how to betternaddress public health challenges, nationally and regionally.
The Secretariat of SEEnHealth Network, under the Presidency mandate of Montenegro organized innpartnership with the Embassy of Montenegro and the “Dobredojde” MacedonianWelcome Centre, Montenegro Coffee Morning,non 6 February 2020, in Skopje, the Republic of North Macedonia.
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The event was dedicatednto Montenegro and the “Importance ofnregional cooperation in public health to advocate with single voice that cleannair is a human right, not a privilege!”.
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The Ambassador ofnMontenegro to the Republic of North Macedonia, H.E. Ms. Marija Petrovic promotednMontenegro as a destination to visit and much more to discover from the “Montenegronwild beauty” towards its health tourism, products and beyond.
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Head of Secretariat ofnSEE Health Network, Dr. Mira Jovanovski-Dasic presented the importance ofnregional cooperation in public health to advocate with single voice that cleannair is a human right and a chronic issue persisting for a long timenwith consequences to our health in our Region in particular.
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A safe, clean, healthynand sustainable environment is integral to the full enjoyment of a wide rangenof human rights, including the rights to life, health, food, water and sanitationnand it is declared within the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
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SEEHN has clean air as anpriority for action included in the main strategic policy document – thenChisinau Pledge from 2017. The document reflects the SDG Agenda 2030 and Healthn2020 and is also translated into the WHO-SEEHN Sub-Regional CooperationnStrategy 2018-2023, signed in July 2018, in Tel-Aviv.
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SEEHN took the firstnclear step by organizing a Regional expert round table “Reducing Health Impacts of Polluted Air- Strengthening Health Systemsnand Multisectoral Response in SEE Countries” on 7-8 November 2019 in Skopje,nNorth Macedonia.
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The experts from 9 MembernStates including observers from Turkey and Kosovo* attended and identified thenfollowing recommendations to focus on:
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Inter-sectoral actions that are key fornhealth in all policies implementation;
Comparable data that are key to informednbased policies,
Health risk assessments and Health ImpactnAssessments to be carried out;
Regional epidemiological studies onnenvironmental health issues (studies on pollution sources, biomonitoring, etc.)
Human capital – that needs to continuouslynstrengthen capacities of the health system experts, along with the imperativenneed to increase general population knowledge and awareness on how to protectnduring the especially high polluted days;
Support to development of national/regionalnstrategies/action plans on indoor/outdoor air quality and the decrease of airnpollution.
To establish a SEEHN RHDC on Environmentnand Health
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Moreover, there is stillnso much to be done to tackle air pollution across the region with the contributionnof other sectors with the final aim to empower citizens with knowledge andncleaner choices.
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Tonimprove public transport
Tonincrease energy efficiency
Tonenforce standards
Reducenhigher polluting cars
Offerngrants and subsides for greener policies
Tonconstantly raise awareness and health literacy on air pollution
Tonplant trees etc.
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We will all benefit from cleaner air, water and soil, as will the generations that come after us.
SEEHN Director Dr Mira Jovanovski Dasic welcomed Mr Dragan Janjatov Editor-in-Chief and Mr Dimitar Belcev Deputy Editor-in-Chief from the journal Diplomatski Letopis. SEE Health Network activities have been presented and discussed.
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Diplomatski Letopis in its latest edition presents the Regional initiatives hosted by the Republic of North Macedonia.
Workshop on Reducing Health Inequality (SDG10) by Improving Health Literacy, has been organized by the SEEHN Secretariat, SEEHN RHDC on Public Health Services and the Ministry of Health of the Republic of North Macedonia on 28 November in Shtip, Republic of North Macedonia under the Presidency of Montenegro.
A fruitful meeting at SEEnHealth Network Secretariat premises with H.E. Ms. Marija Petrovic, MontenegrinnAmbassador to North Macedonia.
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It was discussed thenorganization of the Montenegro Coffee Morning, under the auspices of thenMontenegrin Presidency of SEEHN.
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The Embassy of Montenegrontogether with the Secretariat of SEE Health Network and the “Dobredojde”nMacedonia Welcome Centre, on February 6, 2020 in Skopje the Republic of North Macedonianwill hold an event dedicated to Montenegro and the “Importance of regionalncooperation in public health to advocate with single voice that clean air is anhuman right, not a privilege!”.
12-13 December 2019, Podgorica, Montenegro EC TAIEX Multi-country workshop on Scaling up colorectal cancer screening programmes, organized in co-operation with SEE Health Network Regional Health Development Centre on NCD hosted by the Institute of Public Health Montenegro and SEE Health Network Secretariat within Montenegrin SEE Health Network Presidency. Participants are from Republic of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, State of Israel, Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, Republic of North Macedonia, Republic of Serbia, Turkey and Kosovo* – Western Balkans and beyond.
On 6 December 2019, the SEE Health Network Secretariat Director Dr MiranJovanovski Dasic and the ExecutivenDirector of the Center for Regional PolicynResearch and Cooperation Studiorum Prim Neda Milevska – Kostova at the SEEHN Secretariatnin Skopje co – signed the Renewalnof the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) from 2013.
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Under the MoU, both sides agreed to continue enhancing regional cooperation in public health as one of the highest priority in underpinning political cooperation and economic development in the SEE region, by undertaking exchange of information, publications and joint development and/or implementation of projects and activities in the areas of mutual interest.
#SEEHN Secretariat Director Dr Mira Jovanovski Dasic welcomed Dr. Mihai Horga, Director Eastern European Institute of Reproductive Health and SEEHN Regional Health Development Center (RHDC) on Sexual and Reproductive health hosted by Romania to discuss activities and exchange ideas aimed to improve sexual and reproductive health in the SEE Region in 2020.
28 November 2019, Shtip, Republic of North Macedonia
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Through the SEEHN Chisinau Pledge, adopted in 2017, MembernStates committed themselves to work Regionally towards the achievement of thenSustainable Development Goals by 2030. To achieve the
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SDG 10, it isnnecessary to reduce inequality within and among countries and this can benachieved also by improving health literacy.
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Health literacy is not just a concept – it shapes people’snhealth every day from day one when we are born to our last day.
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SEEHN in partnership with the Ministry of Health of NorthnMacedonia and the SEEHN Regional Health Development Center on Public HealthnServices hosted by North Macedonia for the first time is tackling thisnsubject. Health literacy plays annimportant role in how well individuals can access the health system and receivenquality care.
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This meeting is the first one to provide space for mappingnthe situation that is currently in place in all 9 SEEHN Member States and tondiscuss and agree recommendations for the continuous Regional joint effortsnwith the objective to agree on several policy response options to be takennforward.
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WHO Deputy DG, FormernWHO Regional Director Dr Jakab is declaring that “health is a politicalnchoice”, indeed in this case we need strong commitments and action fromneveryone: ministry of health, other sectors: education, finance, economy;ncommunity leaders, civil society, the private sector, and individuals.nEffective responses to health literacy issues can improve health outcomes andnreduce health inequities. During this meeting it will also be discussed andnstressed that individuals have not only the responsibility for their health butnalso need knowledge and infrastructure to make healthy choices.
