74th Session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe
The 74th Session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe will take place on 29–31 October 2024. Health ministers and high-level delegates from the 53 Member States of the WHO European Region, as well as representatives of partner organizations and civil society wil meet in Copenhagen, Denmark, to discuss current health issues and set the direction for future activities.
As a recognised non-state actor, EuroHealthNet submited two statements to the WHO Regional Committee meeting.
EuroHealthNet Statement on Framework for resilient and sustainable health systems in the WHO
European Region 2025-2030
Dear Chair, Regional Director, ministers, representatives, and delegates of the WHO European Region Member States, EuroHealthNet welcomes this opportunity to reflect on the “Framework for resilient and sustainable health systems in the WHO European Region 2025-2030″ and recommend ways to support its implementation. The proposed framework contains eight priority action areas which would indeed be transformational, if fully implemented. To support their implementation, we would like to offer the following four recommendations:
- Equity in all actions: the strong focus in the framework on equity and leaving no one behind is laudable. We would like to encourage this ‘equity lens’ to be applied systematically across all
action areas. For instance, while Priority action area 4 includes equity in its title, more emphasis could be placed on actions, mitigating the risks of leaving people behind during the digital transition. - Cross-sectoral collaboration: We welcome the integration of cross-sectoral collaboration across the framework, which is essential to support the transformation towards person-centred models of care. Specifically, within Priority area 5, we encourage Member States to also collect, analyse, and use data from across sectors to effectively measure the impacts of determinants of health. We would recommend the development of a broad, comprehensive health surveillance system across all sectors.
- Investing in health: The framework recognises better health system spending as an investment, not a cost. This aligns with the vision for a Wellbeing Economy which promotes social, economic, and ecological justice within planetary boundaries. By reducing low-value care, better coordinating to address drivers of ill-health, and greening health services, we can improve the resilience and sustainability of health systems.
- Social innovations: Health promotion is vital for the success of these priorities, as healthpromoting systems are inherently resilient. While health promotion and community-based interventions are named in three of the eight priority areas, they could be central to all areas. In particular, we suggest making reference to promising social innovations, such as social prescribing, within the first two Priority action areas. These new models offer great potential to enhance the effectiveness and resilience of health systems.
Finally, for implementation, we note that two essential steps are required: 1) training health and care workers with skills suited to an evolving, but supportive, landscape, and 2) ensuring health and wellbeing remain a priority in policy and decision-making.
The future of health systems demands bold leadership, innovative thinking, and a commitment to transformation. It is crucial to train professionals to lead and work across sectors while providing conditions to support their own well-being. Developing training and governance tools that prioritise equity, transparency, and collaboration will create resilient systems capable of facing challenges and building healthier societies.
While health has fallen down the list of priorities of global policymakers, health is the foundation upon which our economies and societies thrive. We hope that Member States will embrace the priority actions of the Framework and put political will and leadership behind its implementation.
EuroHealthNet is committed to contributing to this mission by sharing our expertise in health promotion, disease prevention, and public health policy to help create systems that are sustainable, resilient, and protective of their populations.
Thank you.
Copenhagen, 31 October 2024
EuroHealthNet Statement on health emergency preparedness, response and resilience in the WHO European Region 2024–2029
Dear Chair, Regional Director, honourable ministers, representatives, and distinguished delegates of the WHO European Region Member States,
EuroHealthNet and our co-signatories welcome the opportunity to comment once again on the Preparedness 2.0 action plan.
The action plan is grounded in principles such as equity, community-centrism, good governance, and the One Health approach, reflecting lessons well-learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. It is divided into five strategic areas and complemented by an implementation support guide. As reflected in the guide, the plan must be accompanied by wider measures to support an effective response to the crisis. We offer the following four recommendations to help implement Preparedness 2.0:
- A stronger focus on health promotion: Strategic area 2: Community resilience and protection aims to make community protection the end goal of emergency preparedness and response. The focus on ‘dual-track’ and ‘whole-of-government’ responses is encouraging. Yet for these responses to be effective during crises, they must already function well in daily operations. We encourage aligning actions with the Framework for resilient and sustainable health systems in the WHO European Region (EUR/RC74/9) to create health-promoting systems that protect population health before and during crises. Such systems are effective “countermeasures” as they build trust and improve resilience.
- Cross-sectoral governance to address determinants of health: in Strategic area 5: Emergency coordination, we advocate for governance structures which clearly define communities’ roles in an emergency response. We also note that effective emergency coordination should incorporate the wider determinants of health, including education, job security, food and nutrition security, and access to nature. A cross-sectoral approach should be at the heart of emergency coordination to address all factors impacting people’s well-being. This approach will mitigate crises’ disproportionate impacts on vulnerable communities.
- Scalable Mental health: Strategic area 3: safe and scalable care emphasises adaptable health systems for emergencies, but overlooks the need to scale mental health services, often excluded from national health care systems. Acknowledging emergencies’ emotional and psychological toll, we recommend a dual-track approach to mental health, with surge capacity to address both community and health worker needs in times of crisis. Engaging local populations in co-creating mental health interventions and treating these services as essential “countermeasures” will ensure consistent community support.
- Further consideration of climate crisis adaptation measures: Across all strategic areas, we must do more than just environmental surveillance. Building on existing WHO materials, such as the Guidance for Climate Resilient and Environmentally Sustainable Health Care Facilities, we urge a stronger focus on climate crisis resilience in the action plan. Through cross-sectoral collaboration, implementing adaptation measures to climate crisis, heat-health action plans and flood-resilient infrastructures, we can better protect vulnerable populations and enhance equity.
In conclusion, the co-signatories of this statement endorse the action plan and look forward to support its implementation and strengthen the aspects of health promotion, cross-sectoral governance, mental health and climate crisis adaptation.
Copenhagen, 31 October 2024
Signatories:
- EuroHealthNet
- European Federation of Nurses Associations (EFN)
- European Forum on Primary Care (EFPC)
- European Heart Network (EHN)
- European Public Health Alliance (EPHA)
- The European Public Health Association (EUPHA)
- International Diabetes Federation European Region (IDF Europe)
- International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA)
Read our statements to the previous Regional Committee meetings here.