Sofia 14 July 2022 – Head of SEEHN Secretariat Dr. Mira Jovanovski – Dasic met today with the Director of the Bulgarian Diplomatic Institute Tanya Mihaylova. The Ministry of Health of the Republic of Bulgaria helped organizing this meeting with the aim of assessing potential forms of cooperation between the two parties by linking health to diplomacy.
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Dr. Jovanovski – Dasic used the opportunity to give an insight on the organizational structure and activities of the SEEHN and shared her views on the intention to finance with CEI, a health diplomacy course in Sofia. She clarified that the target group would be the Ministry of Health staff, with the opportunity of attendance by the representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for two participants per SEEHN Member State with the possibility of extending the invitation to partner countries, partners and other IOs.
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Ms. Mihaylova thanked Dr. Jovanovski – Dasic for the interest expressed in having a brief training in health diplomacy in Sofia and gave a short overview of the work of the Institute. She explained that training so far was provided in fields such as regional issues and security, energy diplomacy, economic diplomacy, environment, public diplomacy, diplomatic protocol; but that health diplomacy is both an opportunity and a challenge and that the idea is interesting. The only potential setback in organizing such an event in October or November could be the lack of time, the availability of experts/lecturers and the eventual worsening of the epidemiological situation.
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The interlocutors agreed to intensify communication on the subject with concrete steps to be taken as early as beginning of September.
Head of SEEHN Secretariat, Dr. Mira Jovanovski – Dasic, participated at the two-day workshop devoted to Pandemic Preparedness Planning, organized on 12 – 13 July in Sofia, Bulgaria by SECID SEEHN Regional Health Development Center (RHDC) on communicable diseases, with the support of CDC Atlanta and WHO. Around 40 epidemiologists, surveillance and laboratory professionals, Ministry personnel, emergency response and immunization team members and communication specialists took part at this event, which was the third and final part of the project. The workshops’ objectives were to assist participants in identifying gaps to support the pandemic plan revision, develop concrete steps to build capacities to fill those gaps, and provide results and information on the experience to support WHO work in updating global pandemic guidance and tools. It provided the participants with the space and time to follow-up on the knowledge of performing SWOT analysis, pinpoint crucial gaps, and update the present strategy. Participants left the workshop with an assessment of their current pandemic preparedness plans’ potential and strength, as well as with the strategies for revision and capacity growth.
The two-day policy dialogue brought together representatives of all nine Member States of the SEE Health Network as well as senior officials from the partner international organizations and the diplomatic corps.
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The meetings focused on coordinating the preparation of the Fifth Ministerial Forum and identifying the most important issues in the Region to be addressed, while taking into account the pressing health needs faced by individual Member States, as well as defining how to move forward and develop innovative ways to accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
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The outlined policy directions will foster a new vision, embedded in the Belgrade Pledge, to be endorsed at the soon-approaching Ministerial Forum, to accelerate the engagement of SEEHN to bridge the health gap with the EU.
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More specifically, the objectives were:
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• take stock of SEEHN’s actions under the Serbian presidency in the first half of 2022;
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• 21 years of SEEHN as a public health alliance that has contributed to peace and security in the region by building partnerships that promote health for all;
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• discuss ways to build resilient health systems by strengthening mental health and human health resources;
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• analyse the draft Belgrade Commitment and finalize preparations for the Fifth SEEHN Ministerial Forum to be held online later this month;
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• review the actions of SEEHN RHDCs, regional expertise, as well as the research meeting for informed policy development;
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• discuss ongoing SEEHN initiatives, partners, and new development avenues.
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The SEEHN uses this opportunity to thank the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Serbia for the support in the organization of the meeting and express gratitude to all participants for their valuable contribution to the event’s success.
Around the world, on 12th of May, we celebrate Nurses and their vital role in the health of our health care systems.
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Since 1974, we pay tribute to nurses’ incredible work, professionalism, selflessness, courage, strength, and perseverance and this has been highlighted more than ever by the hard times of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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SEEHN would like to take this opportunity to express its gratitude for the tireless efforts of the nurses in the medical teams to protect the health of others. In the face of exhaustion, stress, and physical and emotional trauma, nurses have inspired confidence and hope for the future.
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At the same time, SEEHN offers its deepest condolences to those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the fight for the common good. These losses of the medical staff cannot be forgotten, and their memory must prevent a crisis of a similar magnitude from happening again.
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“Invest in Nursing and respect the rights to secure global health”- the theme of this year`s celebration campaign is not only a justified call to action but a moral duty, which SEEHN firmly upholds!
Members of EuroHealthNet and the South-eastern Europe Health Network (SEEHN) met on the 12th of April to discuss common and specific challenges related to public health faced by networks in the Ukraine crisis. Discussions were held to see where further support can be given, in terms of connections, information, joint advocacy etc.
On April 8, Dr. Mira Dašić, the Head of SEEHN Secretariat met in Belgrade with Mr Vladimir Arsenovic the Director of the Agency for Accreditation of Health Care Institutions in Serbia and the Director of the SEEHN RHDC on Accreditation and continuous quality improvement of health care.
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The parties assessed the status of the Centre’s activities and discussed ways to further develop and expand its work in the field at regional level.
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In the wake of the pandemic, joining forces to capitalize on the importance of continually improving the quality of healthcare is greater than ever and we must seize the opportunities to step up our efforts to strengthen and redesign our health care systems.
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The interlocutors also agreed to organize a round table on mandatory versus voluntary accreditation of health care institutions, which will take place at the end of May 2022.
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The visit is part of the SEEHN Secretariat’s agenda to increase the visibility of the Network’s RHDCs and enhance synergies between different areas of activity at the regional levels.
It is celebrated every year on 7 April with the aim of drawing attention to a specific health topic of concern to people all over the world. On this date in 1948, World Health Organization was founded.
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This year, the World Health Day is dedicated to raising the awareness on the threats posed by climate change and calls for governments to take immediate steps on climate change to protect the health of the communities they serve.
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According to WHO, 13 million deaths around the world each year are due to avoidable environmental causes and climate change is expected to cause approximately 250 000 additional deaths per year between 2030 and 2050 and a wider range of health problems such as respiratory illness, cardiovascular disease, injuries, and premature death.
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The global scale of environmental health problems requires consideration on how to curtail its size within the limits of global ecological sustainability. Enhancing the public narrative about climate change is not only justified, but it would make a difference in policy surrounding the paradigm.
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The 2030 agenda recognizes that the relationship between health, economic development and social cohesion is linked to climate change and calls for a roadmap for climate actions that will reduce emissions and build climate resilience.
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Building upon the knowledge that people’s health is intertwined with our planet’s climate, health must take a pivotal part of every country’s climate policy. The campaign “Our planet, our health” lays extraordinary foundational premises for intensive efforts to protect the health of the planet and the well-being of its people!
Belgrade, 1 April 2022 – As a follow up to the recently completed project “Mental Health and Resilience Training for healthcare workers responding to COVID-19 in SEE Region”, SEEHN Secretariat Director Dr. Mira Jovanovski – Dasic paid a working visit to the the Clinic for Psychiatric Diseases and the Mental Health Center “Laza Lazarevic” in Belgrade. The visit was hosted by the Clinic’s Director Prof. Ivana Stasevic Karlicic, MD, who was also the Mental Health Expert and Master Trainer from Serbia during the project.
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The first part of the visit was organized at the premises of the Clinic for Psychiatric Diseases in Visegradska 26 where the meeting between the directors was held, also attended by the National Focal Point from Serbia Assistant Prof. Vladan Djordjevic, MD. Prof. Stasevic Karlicic used this opportunity to present the latest novelties introduced in the field of mental health in Serbia, mainly relating to easier access to mental health services, anonimous, free of charge and without the need of presenting the health insurance card or the GP’s refferal in order to avoid possible stigma. She also explained that persons with mental health issues since recently also have the possibility to contact experts online.
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Dr. Jovanovski – Dasic thanked Prof. Stasevic Karlicic for her invaluable contribution during the implementation phase of the project and her kind hospitality. She expressed hope that by joining forces this momentum can continue and much more will be done for mental health well being in the Region.
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After the meeting, a tour of the Mental Health Centre in Terazije 3/3 was organized.
Belgrade, 29 March 2022 – In the light of the recent establishment of the Organizational Board for the Fifth Ministerial Forum, director of SEEHN Secretariat Dr. Mira Jovanovski – Dasic and Chair of SEEHN Executive Committee and National Health Coordinator of the Republic of Serbia Dr. Danijela Urosevic met today at the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Serbia.
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The purpose of the meeting was to elaborate on the most important questions regarding the forthcoming Forum that is going to be hosted by the Republic of Serbia in June. Dr. Urosevic suggested the Forum to be held during the first half of June, having in mind the tight agenda and the end of the Serbian Presidency. She also proposed potential venues and reminded that she will continuously support all the activities through her role in the Organizational Board. Dr. Dasic informed that the Secretariat is intensively working on the preparation of the necessary documents, including the draft text of the Belgrade Pledge that will be soon shared for comments with all member states. She added that in the next period the SEEHN Secretariat would organize a series of virtual meetings with the aim of monitoring the progress towards a successful event.
On 28 and 29 March 2022 the Multi-country – TAIEX Workshop on Good Practice in Strengthening Health Systems for the Prevention and the Control of TB in the SEEHN Member States (Western Balkans and beyond) was held virtually.
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The initiative for this multi-country event was developed and implemented as a partnership between the IPH of Albania and the SEEHN Secretariat, and funded by TAIEX. Around 50 participants from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Kosovo* and Turkey gathered for two days to accelerate progress towards the elimination of this life-threatening disease.
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The aim of the meeting was to map the current Tuberculosis (TB) situation, review the TB management, and develop recommendations for national comprehensive policies, strategies and plans for scaling up programmes towards effective interventions to prevent and control TB in the South Eastern Europe Region.
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Additionally, discussions focused on the screening and management of TB in the refugees’ population. The current experience came to particular relevance and Turkey shared their expertise in the matter. SEEHN and its international partners will continuously join efforts and will work to support the Member States in their endeavour to eliminate this deadly disease.
Dr. Mira Jovanovski Dasic, head of SEEHN Secretariat, took part at The First World Conference “Fighting COVID-19 Pandemic – Health Challenges” that was held from 26 to 28 March 2022 in Belgrade, Serbia. On the first day, as part of session three, she gave a presentation on the “Regional collaboration and partnership in supporting the healthcare workers in COVID-19 pandemic”. Representatives of WHO, UNDP, UNOPS, and UNICEF, also attended this session, dedicated to international organizations.
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The Conference gathered almost 1000 participants and 300 experts from all over the world around 50 different topics related to the pandemic. The aim of this groundbreaking conference was to create a platform for better preparedness and response to the upcoming health system challenges based on the knowledge, experience, and practice gained worldwide during the Covid-19 pandemic.
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The Serbian Prime Minister H.E. Ms. Ana Brnabić, Serbian Minister of Health Dr. Zlatibor Loncar, WHO Regional Director for Europe Dr. Hans Kluge, Conference-Chairlady Prof. Tatjana Adžiċ-Vukičeviċ, MD, and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade Prof. Lazar Davidoviċ, MD, addressed the audience during the opening ceremony.
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The agenda included topics ranging from leadership and coordination in the prevention and control of COVID-19, public health partnerships and cooperation in the fight against COVID-19, important health care challenges triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic and their possible solutions, access to medicines and medical devices during the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health during the crisis caused by COVID-19, influences and challenges in the treatment of emergency and elective patients, COVID- 19 in health care workers, physical performance of patients with COVID-19, “pneumo” related COVID-19 ” complications etc.
Prior to the official Project Closing Ceremony, a working meeting of the Mental Health & Resilience Master Trainers and National Focal Points was held in Skopje. The goal of the meeting was for the participants to exchange experience on the implementation of the training program in their countries and to discuss and propose follow up actions for continuation and sustainability from the project results. All participants confirmed that the project came in a right time, expressed their gratitude to the SEEHN Secretariat and Project HOPE for providing such important training program to promote mental health of the healthcare workers. The meeting closed with joint conclusion and strong commitment to continue the training program by building up on the created capacities within the countries: (i) Master trainer enrolled with the program; (ii) adjusted and translated training materials; (iii) created pool of trained trainers who will cascade the training at their working place and/or their community.
A Video that reflects the impressions and views of the Mental Health & Resilience Master Trainers and training participants was produced within the project.
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Watch and listen to the experience from the project activities
SEEHN Secretariat extends its most sincere gratitude and appreciation to all colleagues and institutions who have contributed to the successful project implementation.
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During the Project Closing Ceremony, Dr Dasic, Head of SEEHN Secretariat presented Certificates of appreciation to the:
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Minister of Health of the Republic of North Macedonia, Dr Bekim Sali
Mental Health&Resilience Master Trainers
National Focal Points
Ministries of Health from the respective project participants
Partners and supporters (Project HOPE, CDP, NYC Health+ Hospitals)
Training participants who contributed to the produced video
Skopje, 25 March 2022 – The SEEHN Secretariat hosted a closing ceremony to celebrate the completion of the “Mental Health and Resilience Training for HCWs responding to COVID-19 in SEE Region” project.
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Launched in 2021 insix of the SEEHN Member States (ALB, BiH, MKD, MNE, SRB, MDA) and in Kosovo*, Project HOPE funded this project with the aim to build knowledge and skills on core resilience drivers and capacities during the eight months of implementation.
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The closing ceremony was attended by a group of high-level partners and stakeholders and benefited of the presence of H.E. Dr. Bekim Sali, Minister of Health of the Republic of North Macedonia.
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During her opening remarks, the SEEHN Secretariat Director Dr. Mira Dašić reminded of the immense impact of the crisis on health workers. “Since the start of the pandemic, health and care workers have been under unprecedented pressure as they provided care to COVID-19 patients, maintaining the essential health services, and roll-out vaccination rounds. They are the backbone of every health system, but the pandemic has brought to the front not only their tremendous contribution, but also huge sacrifices”, Dr. Dašićsaid.
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Considering the weight that the pandemic brought on all of us, but especially on HCWs, SEEHN aligned with Project Hope to launch an initiative to help improve their resilience, improve the ongoing Covid-19 response and other emergency responses for selected project participants.
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The content of the training sessions was based on adapted training materials from NYC Health + Hospitals, with the generous support of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy and provided by expert trainers from each of the implemented countries.
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Minister Sali noted, “United action for more and stronger support for mental health and well-being is highly placed at our national agenda, and is in line with the efforts of different international organizations to empower and protect mental health of health care workforce. This project implemented by South-eastern Europe Health Network Secretariat and financed by Project HOPE came at a right time to provide HCWs with practical tools how to take care for their mental health, to help their colleagues, to build better resilience and to improve the COVID-19 response”. Thanks to the dedication and intense efforts of the SEEHN Secretariat, partners and countries involved, the project reached out to more than 8,000 health workers.
#WorldTBDay, marked on March 24, aims to raise global awareness of the impact of tuberculosis worldwide. It also emphasizes the importance of sharing success in the prevention and control of tuberculosis in accelerating progress towards the elimination of this life-threatening disease. This year’s World TB Day theme, Invest to End TB. Save Lives reminds leaders that without adequate financial resources to fight TB, we will not be able to reverse the severe impact of COVID-19, nor will we be able to meet the goals set at the 2018 United Nations Summit (UNHLM). SEEHN and its partners are working together to support the SEEHN Member States efforts to eliminate this deadly disease. A multi-country – TAIEX Workshop on Good Practice in Strengthening Health Systems for the Prevention and the Control of TB in the SEEHN Member States (Western Balkans and beyond) will be held on March 28 and 29, 2022. The aim of the meeting is to map the current Tuberculosis (TB) situation, review the TB management, and develop recommendations for national comprehensive policies, strategies and plans for scaling up programmes towards effective interventions to prevent and control TB in the South Eastern Europe Region. This initiative is a result of SEEHN Secretariat partnership with IPH Albania, funded by the European Commission TAIEX and it will be implemented in the Western Balkans, Moldova and Turkey.
Skopje, 21 March 2022 – A week after she was appointed as the National Health Coordinator of the Republic of North Macedonia, Prof. Elena Petrova-Kostova, MD, Faculty of Medicine, Skopje, paid a working visit to the SEEHN Secretariat.
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At the meeting, Dr Dasic, the SEEHN Secretariat Director, presented the last year’s achievements under the Serbian Presidency. She shared short and medium-term plans aiming to identify challenges and opportunities for strengthening the practical aspects of the work of the SEEHN. In addition, she explained the role of the SEEHN Secretariat and emphasized its importance as the main engine for providing administrative and technical support to the Network’s activities.
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Prof. Petrova-Kostova offered her full support to future SEEHN endeavors aimed at boosting regional cooperation, especially in the area of public health.
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The discussion stressed the need to take follow-up actions on the Ad-Hoc Plenary meeting that took place on 17 March 2022 online, when the Fifth Ministerial Forum and the Ukrainian crisis were identified as key priorities. Both parties agreed that intensifying the dialogue in the next period is the best way forward.
Skopje, 17 March 2022 – The SEEHN Regional Health Development Centers (RHDCs) are the main vector of technical expertise within SEEHN. Fostering collaboration at the regional level is crucial to strengthening the inter-country collaboration as this enhances the exchange of information and most importantly the interchange of best practices.
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Dr. Mira Dasic, the Director of SEEHN Secretariat had a meeting with Dr. Milica Stanisic, Director, RHDC on Non-communicable diseases (NCDs), Montenegro, and Dr. Igor Spiroski, Professor of Hygiene of Food and Nutrition at the Faculty of Medicine, Republic of North Macedonia.
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The discussions focused around the priority areas of interventions to reduce the NCDs risk factors, in particular, the children nutrition and obesity. At the center of the debate were the recommendations from the SEE Health Network “Round Table on Reduction of Childhood Malnutrition and Control of Marketing of Unhealthy Food and Beverages Impact”, held on 25 February 2020 in Podgorica, Montenegro. With the overall objective to reduce childhood malnutrition, the interlocutors shall continue working on proposals for activities whose main priority is fighting obesity. Enabling healthy lifestyle choices from the early age among children is key to preventing obesity and other related diseases.
17 March 2022 – Dr. Mira Dasic, Director of the SEEHN Secretariat, held a meeting in Skopje with directors of the two SEEHN RHDCs, Prof. Silvia Bino, SEEHN RHDC on Communicable Diseases (SECID), hosted by the Institute of Public Health of Albania and Dr. Milica Stanisic, RHDC on Non-communicable diseases (NCDs), hosted by the the Institute of Public Health of Montenegro.
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Starting with the conclusions from the Ad-hoc Plenary Meeting related to the Fifth Ministerial Forum, the dialogue continued with defining the specific role the RHDCs would play at the high-level forum and beyond; to act as satellites of health expertise and deliver health data for information-based decisions leading towards adopting adequate health policies.
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The interlocutors concluded that there is space for a more visible role for the RHDCs and agreed to continue advocacy for new directions of action and new projects as well as all other initiatives related to public health that might be of interest for the Region. With that in mind, a visit to Albania has been included in the agenda for this year.
