26th Meeting of SEE Health Network, Banja Luka, 12 October 2011

The 26th meeting of the SEE Health Network took place in Banja Luka. The meeting was attended by representatives of member states and partner countries and organizations. Important decisions taken at this meeting include those on the preparations and follow up to the 3rd Ministers of Health Forum that takes place during 13-14 October 2011.

You can read or download the draft summary report from this meeting below:

26^TH MEETING OF THE SEEHN

Banja Luka (B&H), 12 October 2011

DRAFT SUMMARY REPORT

The meeting followed immediately the meeting of the Executive Committee of the SEEHN ( attended by Snezanna Cicevalieva, Elizabet Paunovic, Goran Cerkez, Alexandre Berlin, Amela Lolic, Dunja Gruntar Golanda, Maria Ruseva, Piotr Mierzewski, Nand Shani and Natalia Olesen), with the main object to complete the final preparations of the Forum. The list of participants at the 26th meeting of the SEEHN is attached.

The meeting agreed with all the details concerning the scenario for the running of the Forum, and its member will convey the appropriate information to the heads of the delegations.

Due to the lack of time at the end of the Forum it was agreed that the next SEEHN meeting (Post-Forum meeting) will take place within the next 2-4 month as a special meeting. It will be a larger meeting involving also the Directors of the RHDCs. all partners as well as all interested organizations and potential partners, to define, on the basis of the Banja Luka Pledge, how to implement the Pledge commitments, the future strategy of the Network and its work plans, as well as increasing the involvement of interested partners.

Regarding the Global Conference on Social Determinants for Health and Inequalities (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), it was agreed that the Minister of Health of Moldova who will be participating in the meeting will deliver a joint statement on behalf of the SEEHN. The draft of this Statement will be prepared during the Forum and circulated immediately for approval by the NHC before the end of the Forum.

The HiAP capacity building programme document prepared by Erio Ziglio and Chris Brown, as a possible project, will be discussed at the next SEEHN meeting (post-Forum meeting.

The meeting welcomed the participation of the representatives of the International Network of Health Promoting Hospitals and Health Services – Professor Hanne Tonnesen and Mr. Jeff Kirk Svane. They briefly described the network and its activities as well as their interest in becoming partners of the Network. Their intervention can be summarized as follows:

The International Network of Health Promoting Hospitals & Health Services (HPH) noted that HPH is pleased to embark on the coming collaboration with the SEEHN and to be of service in relation to the great role and responsibility that hospitals and health services have to play now and in future. The HPH began in the 1980s as a WHO Europe pilot project, but now consists of more than 850 hospitals and health services worldwide as a fully established legal entity (with a MoU connecting it closely to WHO). HPH is experiencing rapid growth internationally, and in SEE HPH already has members in Bulgaria, Serbia, Israel. HPH is also looking forward to supporting further memberships in the region.

The SEEHN and HPH collaboration will hopefully prove very beneficial to the health gain of patients, staff and communities in the SEE area in future. The areas of possible synergy and cooperation are plentiful. Especially hospitals and health services, by integration of health promotion in all treatment and structures, are a crucial part of improving individual health on short term and public health on long term. SEEHN and HPH are thus complimentary in scope and aim, and can benefit form a strategic collaborations.

Banja Luka, 12 October 2011
Alexandre Berlin, Rapporteur

Banja Luka, 12 October 2011