Coping with Non-Communicable Diseases in the Nursing and Midwifery Workforce in SEEHN Member States and Guests

Nov 26, 2021 | News, TAIEX

As the pandemic is still unfolding globally and at a time when a fourth and a potential fifth wave is still keeping Europe under enormous pressure, it is too early to assess the full impact of this health emergency.

However to date, the COVID-19 has severely disrupted NCDs prevention and treatment services in many countries which is likely to lead, according to the WHO, to a long-term upsurge in deaths from NCDs.

Immediate action is essential to reverse these trends, and optimizing the skills mix of nurses and midwives can support health systems’ efforts to tackle with the growing burden of the disease.

On November 25 and 26, the South Eastern European Health Network, in cooperation with the European Commission’s Technical Assistance and Information Exchange Tool (TAIEX), organized a multi-country Workshop on Coping with Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in the Nursing and Midwifery Workforce in SEEHN Member States (Western Balkan and beyond).

As Dr. Mira Dasic, Director of the SEEHN Secretariat, mentioned in her introductury remarks, nurses and midwives play a key role in the successful delivery of health- and social-care services. As the health needs of the Region change (demographic challenges, morbidity profile, migration), nurses are becoming an increasingly important part of the response. Nurses and midwives work at all levels of health systems and across diverse settings and contexts they deliver quality care and their role is critical to achieve universal health coverage and to make it a reality for every citizen.

The two-day event aimed to strengthen and modernize the workforce capacities in nursing and midwifery and to provide support and management of the NCDs at the community level. The workshop provided insight into best practices from EU Member States, reflecting on the possibilities of extending or implementing competency-based models for nurses in the SEE region, as well as enabling and applying EU Recommendations and EU standards in addressing NCDs. This multi-country event also explored the digital possibilities of being integrated and thus strengthening the resilience of the health workforce. The workshop was organised in co-operation with Ministry of Health of the Republic of Moldova and SEEHN Regional Health Development Center on Human Resources for Health hosted by the Republic of Moldova.

TAIEX Multi-Country Workshop on Intervention and Policies on Antibiotics Use in the SEEHN Member States and guests

Nov 23, 2021 | News, TAIEX

On 22 and 23 November, the South Eastern Europe Health Network organized a Multi-Country Workshop on Intervention and Policies on Antibiotics Use with the support of the European Commission’s Technical Assistance and Information Exchange Instrument (TAIEX).

The online meeting provided a great opportunity for the representatives of the beneficiary Member States and guests to mark the World Antimicrobial Resistance Week, to discuss and to assess the progress and future challenges and to jointly support solutions to advance the region`s transition to sustainable solutions for addressing AMR.

A specific focus was placed on identifying and reviewing indicators and standards that may contribute to measuring the progress of the National Program/Action Plan to combat AMR in the SEE region.

The workshop also addressed the multi-sectoral approach of the One Health vision that integrates human medicine, veterinary medicine, animal husbandry, agriculture and environment with the aim of mitigating and curbing the AMR trend.

More than 80 participants from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Kosovo* and Turkey exchanged knowledge and experiences that should further inform personalized actions, public awareness campaigns, and strengthened cross-sectoral cooperation in the field.

The workshop was organized in close collaboration with Albanian Institute of Public Health and benefited from the expertise and guidance of the Department of Infectious Diseases, from the National Institute of Health in Italy.

 * This designation is without prejudice to position on status and is in line with the UNSCR 1244/99 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence