SEEHN statement on Health 2020 during WHO RC62 Malta

Joint Statement

Of the South East European Health Network

On the Health 2020 for the RC62 Malta, September 2012

Mr. Chairman, thank you for giving me the floor.

I have the honor to speak on behalf of the 10 member States of the SEE Health Network, who have associated themselves with this statement: Albania, Bulgaria. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Israel, Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, Republic of Macedonia, Romania and Serbia.

The South East European Health Network congratulates the European Region of WHO secretariat, The Regional Director and the Member States that have taken upon them to enter into this endeavor of endorsing this strategy of "Health 2020 – The European policy framework for health and well-being". It has been reached in a unique participatory process, lead by the Regional Director and the Standing Committee, conducting two meetings of all the MS of the region within a year of work. The secretariat has provided us an extremely useful document in a short and a long version as an outcome of this intensive work. 

It is an important milestone in the history of the European Region of WHO that instead of dealing with resolutions and strategies concerning specific health issues, an umbrella strategy that will lead the work of the WHO/Euro for the next eight years. Moreover it has the potential to show all the MS of the European Region the "northern star" that will enlighten them on what and how to achieve Health and well- being for their citizens and create their tailored national 2020 strategies.

Mr. Chairman!

 Adopting this resolution and the Health 2020 strategy is an achievement but also a commitment.  From this day on the preparation and discussion in the Regional Committee will be upgraded in a way that they will be with referral and in the light of this Health 2020 Strategy.

Therefore we suggest amending the draft resolution by adding a new subparagraph in Item. 6 (" Request the Regional Director") right after 6b, which will be the new 6c and the previous 6c will become 6d etc. It will read: "ensure that in each further resolution dealing with strategies on different issues in the work of WHO/Euro a special reference should be added as for the relation and interconnection with the Health 2020 strategy".

We would like to remind the other MS of the WHO/Euro that the two other strategies that we are debating on them during this RC62 in Malta, namely "public health" and "healthy aging" are interconnected with the Health 2020. This new tradition must be the rule for the future, as appropriate.