A new publication of WHO Regional Office for Europe on health effects of particulate matter

Health effects of particulate matter. Policy implications for countries in eastern Europe, Caucasus and central Asia

Despite some improvements, current levels of air pollution still pose a considerable risk to the environment and to human health in the WHO European Region. One issue of concern is that monitoring of particulate matter is very limited in the countries of Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and central Asia. This paper summarizes the evidence about the health effects of air pollution from particulate matter and presents the policy implications, the aim being to stimulate policy-makers to develop more effective strategies to reduce air pollution and its health effects in those countries.

For more information about the book, how to order and a link to the electronic version:http://www.euro.who.int/en/what-we-publish/abstracts/health-effects-of-particulate-matter.-policy-implications-for-countries-in-eastern-europe,-caucasus-and-central-asia

The 26th Issue of the Regional Cooperation Council´s (RCC) for South East Europe Newsletter is out: In focus

Two days ago the RCC uploaded the 26th Issue of its Newsletter.

This issue is entirely dedicated to the ongoing process of developing the SEE 2020 Growth Strategy.

This is a response of the countries of the region, members of the South East Europe Cooperation Process and the Regional Cooperation Council to deal with their outstanding economic, social and development challenges.

Within this process the RCC has established the Social Agenda 2020 Regional Working Group with well specified objectives, functions and outputs. The objective of the working group is to build on current national and regional social development priorities and actions to prepare a regional long term social development strategy and action plan for the Western Balkans, the so called Social Agenda 2020.

The Social Agenda 2020 regional Working Group is expected to:

·    Develop Social Agenda 2020, as a strategic document composed of a set of regionally coordinated social development priorities;

·    Map current interventions against the priorities and assess the extent to which these priorities are appropriately addressed;

·    Identify actions to address challenges, advising on regional and sub-regional cooperation to advance the implementation;

·    Develop key performance indicators;

·    Advise on the monitoring and evaluation of actions that contribute to the implementation of Social Agenda 2020;

·    Identify means of improving data collection and the ongoing measurement and evaluation

·    Meet annually to review the implementation of the strategies, gauge success and recommend adjustments to the strategies or goals-

At the end of the process and prior to the endorsement of the SEE 2020 Strategy as a whole in November 2013, the following outcomes are expected:

·    Social development framework that sets out strategic objectives and headline targets for social development until 2020;

·    Priorities at the policy and initiative level;

·    Key performance indicators and expected results;

·    An implementation plan;

·    A budget framework;

·    An international support strategy that incorporates the roles and responsibilities of partners;

·    Organizational and institutional arrangements.

The SEE Health Network is an active partner in this process.

It is also currently in an intensive process of developing the health aspects of inclusive growth to be an unseparable part of the SEE 2020 Strategy´s Growth pillar.

Additionally, the SEE Health Network is developing its own SEEHN Health 2020 Strategy and Action Plan. These document will be fully aligned to its own as well as to the global and European policies and commitments, namely:

• the SEEHN Banja Luka Pledge of 2011 "Health in All Policies: A Shared Goal and Responsibility!;
• the WHO Europe Health 2020 Policy and the European Action Plan for Strengthening Public Health Capacities and Services;
• the EU 2020 Strategy.

To learn more on the why, what, how and when questions, please, read the articles of the 26th Issues of the RCC Newsletter.

You can find them following the link: http://www.rcc.int/index.php?action=nl_online&id=26&utm_source=newsletter-262013&utm_medium=email

Newsletter 26/2013 May 21, 2013

IN FOCUS read more SEE 2020 – A JOINT REGIONAL FRONT FOR FIGHT AGAINST UNEMPLOYMENT, by Nand Shani, Expert on Economic and Social Development, RCC Secretariat The unemployment rates in the Western Balkan countries, already at precarious levels at the onset of the global economic crisis, have deteriorated sharply...   OUR SOUTH EAST EUROPE INTERVIEW with Spiro Ksera, Minister of Labour, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Albania Political consensus, economic and social prosperity depend on close cooperation with neighbouring countries read more Boosting employment in South East Europe by 2020 by acting ‘smart’ Unemployment, skills and jobs mismatch on labour markets, poor labour mobility, inadequate education systems, insufficiently developed life-long learning systems, etc. are just some of the common issues that seek attention... read more ‘Healthy’ investment in growth in South East Europe Health issues are very sensitive in every society. Providing good health services to citizens in budget-conscious environments, such as South East European (SEE) countries, is a rather ‘painful’ agenda,.. read more FROM BRUSSELS ANGLE INTERVIEW with Thomas Bender, Head of External Relations, Neighbourhood Policy, Enlargement and IPA Unit, Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, European Commission Strength of South East Europe lies in the common vision of 2020 read more   GUEST COMMENTATOR "Economic growth in South East Europe has been interrupted by both the global economic crisis and the deepening crisis in the Eurozone... " read more Will Bartlett Senior Research Fellow, London School of Economics       ACTIVITIES IN BRIEF RCC Board adopts the organization’s new strategy and work programme Letter of intent on joint aviation services in South East Europe signed by aviation organizations from the region more activities   EVENTS CALENDAR RCC EVENTS 30.05.2013 Regional Cooperation Council Annual Meeting, Ohrid 26.05.2013 - 28.05.2013 Conference on Strategic Communication, Skopje, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia more RCC events CULTURAL EVENTS IN SOUTH EAST EUROPE 26.05.2013 - 02.06.2013 58th Sterijino pozorje Thetre Festival, Novi Sad, Serbia 19.05.2013 - 26.05.2013 European Film Festival, Chisinau, Tiraspol, Moldova more cultural events

The WHO e-Atlas of disaster risk for the European region

Floods are the most common natural disaster in the WHO European Region, with effects on health ranging from drowning and injuries to infectious diseases and mental health problems. There are many more, however.

WHO Regional Office for Europe has developed an excellent e-Atlas which has just been launched on its public website. It provides maps of the level of risk of five natural types of disasters in Europe. One can see the risk for earthquakes, floods, heat waves, etc, for the whole European region as well as for individual countries.

For all countries of the SEE Health Network this e-Atlas will help, while using, to strengthen the capacities of the health system and their public health preparedness.

Please find the link to the WHO Europe e-Atlas: http://data.euro.who.int/e-atlas/europe/#

Sixty-sixth World Health Assembly opens today

Today, 20 May 2013, the Sixty-sixth World Health Assembly opens in Geneva, as officials from 194 Member States begin their annual review of the activities of WHO and set new priorities for the future.

The World Health Assembly is the supreme decision-making body of WHO. It is attended by delegations from all WHO Member States and focuses on a specific health agenda prepared by the Executive Board.

The main functions of the World Health Assembly are to determine the policies of the Organization, appoint the Director-General, supervise financial policies, and review and approve the proposed programme budget. The Health Assembly is held annually in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Health Assembly will discuss specific health topics like noncommunicable diseases with a draft Action Plan till 2020, mental health with a draft Action Plan till 2020, universal health coverage, the Millenium Development Goals, the implementation of the International Health regulations, women and children’s health, as well as the programme budget, administration, reform and management matters of WHO.

The programme and all working documents can be downloaded using the link to the World Health Organization website which provides full coverage of the WHA.

Follow the link: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/events/2013/wha66/en/index.html

WHO Global status report on road safety

The World Health Organization (WHO) has just published the

Global status report on road safety

The Global status report on road safety 2013 presents information on road safety from 182 countries, accounting for almost 99% of the world’s population. The report indicates that worldwide the total number of road traffic deaths remains unacceptably high at 1.24 million per year. Only 28 countries, covering 7% of the world’s population, have comprehensive road safety laws on five key risk factors: drinking and driving, speeding, and failing to use motorcycle helmets, seat-belts, and child restraints.
This report serves as a baseline for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020, declared by the UN General Assembly. Made possible through funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies, this is the second in a series of Global status reports.

This information comes timely for the SEE Health Network and the Regional Cooperation Council who are in the process of developing the SEE 2020 Strategy.

You can find the full report on the following link: http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/road_safety_status/2013/report/en/index.html

Formalizing an old partnersip: the South-eastern Europe Health Network (SEEHN) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) will sign a Memorandum of Undertsnading in June 2013

On 20 June 2013, at its 31st Plenary Meeting in Chisinau, Republic of Moldova, the South-eastern Europe Health Network (SEEHN) will sign a Memorandum of Understanding for partnership and cooperation with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), under its Moldovian Presidency .

The history of cooperation between the SEEHN and IOM is long-standing since 2005 immediately after the SEE Second Health Ministers Forum "Health and Economic Development in SEE", November 2005, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia.



Family photo of all participants
of the SEE Third Health Ministers Forum,
October, 2011, Banja Luka,
Bosnia and Herzegovina

The signed Banja Luka Pledge, October 2011












 

The Signatories of the Banja Luka Pledge,
the IOM Reptresentative amidst

In 2011, at the SEE Third Health Ministers Forum "Health in All Policies: A Shared Goal and Objective", 2011, Banja LUka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the IOM committed itself to the SEEHN political pledge by signing it.

Since 2005, IOM, though in the capacity of an observer, has played an important role and has contributed to many areas of the regional cooperation in the SEE regaion both, on a country or multi-country basis, in the following areas:

• health of and health services for minority groups of the population;
• cross-border heath services for migrants;
• migration of health workforce;

About the IOM:

IOM is an International Organization committed to the principle that humane and orderly migration benefits migrants and society.

 

'The Organization was established in December 1951 and began its operations in early 1952 as the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration. Its Constitution was adopted on 19 October 1953 and came into force on 30 November 1954. Amendments were made to the Constitution, effective 14 November 1989, and the Organization was renamed the International Organization for Migration. The Organization possesses full juridical personality and has its Headquarters in Geneva. It currently has 149 Member States.

The Organization's organs are the Council, the Executive Committee and the Administration.

 

As the leading international organization for migration, IOM acts with its partners in the international community to:

• Assist in meeting the growing operational challenges of migration management.
• Advance understanding of migration issues.
• Encourage social and economic development through migration.
• Uphold the human dignity and well-being of migrants.

IOM's Strategic Focus is:

1. To provide secure, reliable, flexible and cost-effective services for persons who require international migration assistance.
2. To enhance the humane and orderly management of migration and the effective respect for the human rights of migrants in accordance with international law.
3. To offer expert advice, research, technical cooperation and operational assistance to States, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders, in order to build national capacities and facilitate international, regional and bilateral cooperation on migration matters.
4. To contribute to the economic and social development of States through research, dialogue, design and implementation of migration-related programmes aimed at maximizing migration's benefits.
5. To support States, migrants and communities in addressing the challenges of irregular migration, including through research and analysis into root causes, sharing information and spreading best practices, as well as facilitating development-focused solutions.
6. To be a primary reference point for migration information, research, best practices, data collection, compatibility and sharing.
7. To promote, facilitate and support regional and global debate and dialogue on migration, including through the International Dialogue on Migration, so as to advance understanding of the opportunities and challenges it presents, the identification and development of effective policies for addressing those challenges and to identify comprehensive approaches and measures for advancing international cooperation.
8. To assist States to facilitate the integration of migrants in their new environment and to engage diasporas, including as development partners.
9. To participate in coordinated humanitarian responses in the context of inter-agency arrangements in this field and to provide migration services in other emergency or post-crisis situations as appropriate and as relates to the needs of individuals, thereby contributing to their protection.¹
10. To undertake programmes which facilitate the voluntary return and reintegration of refugees, displaced persons, migrants and other individuals in need of international migration services, in cooperation with other relevant international organizations as appropriate, and taking into account the needs and concerns of local communities.
11. To assist States in the development and delivery of programmes, studies and technical expertise on combating migrant smuggling and trafficking in persons, in particular women and children, in a manner consistent with international law.
12. To support the efforts of States in the area of labour migration, in particular short term movements, and other types of circular migration.

¹ Although IOM has no legal protection mandate, the fact remains that its activities contribute to protecting human rights, having the effect, or consequence, of protecting persons involved in migration.

You can learn more about IOM and its activities following the link: http://www.iom.int/cms/en/sites/iom/home.html


SEEHN and its partnerships:

Since 2011, after its Third Health Ministers´Forum, Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, October 2011 the South-eastern Europe Health Network, one of the initiatives of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) and the SEE Regional Cooperation Process (SEERCP) in the area of public health and health systems, has moved to a new stage of development.

To date partnerships and networking are amongst the most important of its major directions of work.

Since then the SEEHN has continued to expands its partnerships after having signed Memoranda of Understanding with EuroHealthNet, the International Network of Health Promoting Hospitals and Health Services, the European Health Forum Gadstein and Project Hope.

This is in addition to its traditional partneship, since its commencement in 2001, with the Council of Europe, the Council of Europe Development Bank and WHO Regional Office for Europe.

The European Commission, DG Sanco, has been an active observer since 2005.

The SEE Health Network expands its partnerships: a new Memorandum of Understanding is to be signed with the Centre for Regional Policy Research and Cooperation “Studiorum”

On 20 June 2013, at its 31st Plenary Meeting in Chisinau, Republic of Moldova, the South-eastern Europe Health Network (SEEHN) will sign a Memorandum of Understanding for partnership and cooperation with the Centre for Regional Policy Research and Cooperation “Studiorum”, under its Moldovian Presidency .

The mission of Studiorum, as a non-governmental not-for-profit think-tank, is to work on economic and social aspects of EU integration and globalization processes that are of essential importance for the countries of South-eastern Europe (SEE), through different policy-oriented programs and research projects, which contribute to and complement the attempts of policy-makers in policy design and implementation, and support central and local governments, business and non-governmental sectors in their communication and cooperation.

One of the main goals of Studiorum is to work on improvement of the health and social welfare of people in the countries of SEE region, that is implemented through sub-national, national and regional activities with multiple partners and stakeholders.

Studiorum’s activities, channelled through its Health Policy and Management program, are focused on improving health and welfare through strengthening social and health systems at national level in Macedonia and the region of SEE applying Welfare/Health in All Policies approach, the ultimate goal being Welfare and Health for All.

 

This comes to be fully in line with the main thrust of the SEE Ministers of Health as Expressed in their Banja Luka Pledge of 2011 "Health in All Policies: A Shared Goal and Responsibility".

Studiorum has been established under the applicable laws of the Repåublic of Macedonia, as an association of citizens, governed by a Management Board, and overseen by the Assembly of all members. The headquarters of Studiorum are located in Skopje, Republic of Macedonia.

 

You can learn more about Studiorum following the link to their official website: http://studiorum.org.mk/en/.

 

Since 2011, after its Third Health Ministers´Forum, Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, October 2011 the South-eastern Europe Health Network, one of the initiatives of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) and the SEE Regional Cooperation Process (SEERCP) in the area of public health and health systems, has moved to a new stage of development.

To date partnerships and networking areamongst the most important of its major directions of work.

Since then the SEEHN has continued to expands its partnerships after having signed Memoranda of Understanding with EuroHealthNet, the International Network of Health Promoting Hospitals and Health Services, the European Health Forum Gadstein and Project Hope.

This is in addition to its traditional partneship, since its commencement in 2001, with the Council of Europe, the Council of Europe Development Bank and WHO Regional Office for Europe.

The European Commission, DG Sanco, has been an active observer since 2005.