"...partnerships also in field of health - a priority element included in the CEI Plan of Action 2021-2023..."
Yesterday, the CEI - Executive Secretariat (CEI-ES) participated in the high-level meeting of the South-Eastern Health Network (SEEHN) in Belgrade, under the title “Together for Health-Integrative Leadership in the Western Balkans and Beyond”. The event was hosted by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Serbia and the SEEHN Secretariat and witnessed the participation of representatives of ministries of health and health institutes, the special envoy of the WHO Regional Director for the Western Balkans and of WHO representatives. Regional/international organisations that are also active in the area of health were present as well.
In her welcome address, DSG Nina Kodelja highlighted the importance the CEI attached to partnerships also in the field of health - a priority element included in the CEI Plan of Action 2021-2023. She mentioned the work carried out since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, recalling, in particular, the CEI-WHO Task Force in response to the COVID-19 emergency, and the political endorsement - at the level of the prime ministers - of the WHO roadmap for Health and well-being in Western Balkans, at the margins of the CEI Summit in December 2021.
Senior Programme Manager Gian Matteo Apuzzo stressed the importance of regional cooperation and the crucial role of regional organisations in promoting common activities for strengthening the preparedness of national health systems. In this regard, he explained that the collaboration between CEI and SEEHN was effective and consolidated thanks to joint initiatives on health and social care, with a focus on digital health, capacity building of health care workers and mental health. Moreover, he presented the CEI activities for health promotion in the Western Balkans, aimed at bridging the gap between the latter and the EU.
For more info: apuzzo@cei.int