Monday, January 31, 2011

Overview of Resources and Publications on HiAP

The SEEHN Secretariat has received a list of resources and publications from the WHO Regional Office for Europe on the Health in All Policies, for use during the first preparatory meeting of the 3rd SEE Ministers of Health Forum.

You can read or download the list by clicking here.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

First preparatory meeting for the 3rd SEE Ministers of Health Forum

The SEE Health Network Presidency, held by Bulgaria during January-June 2011, and the Minister of Civil Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Minister of Health of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Minister of Health and Social Welfare of Republic of Srpska, and, the SEE Health Network Executive Committee are calling the first preparatory meeting for the 3rd Health Ministers Forum. The meeting is scheduled to take place in Banja Luka during 17-19 February 2011.

The SEE Ministers of Health will receive shortly the official invitation and agenda for this meeting, with the request to nominate a participant from each of the SEE countries.

You can read or download the text of the invitation for the meeting here.
You can read or download the text of the agenda for the meeting here.

Host Agreement for the new Secretariat in Skopje in the process of ratification

With a letter addressed to the ALB Minister of Health, Dr Petrit Vasili, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of MKD, Mr Antonio Milososki, informs that the Host Agreement for the new SEEHN Secretariat in Skopje is undergoing the ratification process. Also, the host country is in the final preparations for the commencement of the operations of the Secretariat.

The Host Agreement was signed during the recent SEEHN meeting in Tirana, in November 2010. This agreement paves the way for establishing a new and independent Secretariat in Skopje in line with the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. The ratification of the Agreement also will allow for the annual contributions from the SEE countries as stipulated in the MoU "On the future of the SEEHN Secretariat and of the regional cooperation on public health", signed by the SEE Ministers of Health in April 2009.

You can read or download the letter of Minister Milososki here.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

SEEHN to participate on RCC's Donor Conference, Brussels, 31 March 2011

The SEE Health Network confirmed its participation on Regional Cooperation Council's Donor Coordination Conference to be held in Brussels on 31 March 2011. The delegation consists of two members of the SEEHN Executive Committee (Dr Goran Cerkez and Dr Alex Berlin) as well as from the SEEHN Secretariat (Dr Maria Ruseva).

Regional Cooperation Council, with the support of the United States Agency for International Development and European Commission is organizing a Western Balkans donor coordination conference, planned to take place in Brussels on 31 March 2011. The event intends to bring together representatives of the main donors and implementing agencies in the Western Balkans with the representatives of international and regional organizations, task forces and initiatives dedicated to advancing cooperation and promoting development in the region.

You can read or download the invitation of the RCC's Secretary General here.
You can read or download the Donor Conference Note here.
You can read or download the SEEHN completed questionnaire here.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Third SEE Ministers of Health Forum Preparations Teleconference

The SEE Health Network Executive Committee and Secretariat held a teleconference on 13 January 2011 to discuss the preparations for the Third SEE Ministers of Health Forum.

The meeting considered in depth the main topic of the Forum, as well as a number of technical and organizational details. It was recalled that the Forum will consist of the following three parts:
  • Evaluation of the regional cooperation in the framework of the SEEHN since the 2nd Ministerial Forum in Skopje;
  • Health in all policies (main topic);
  • Commitment and future action of the SEEHN
It was agreed that the first meeting of the Organizational Committee for the 3rd Ministers of Health Forum will be held in Banja Luka (date to be confirmed) with the participation of all the members of the network as well as partners and the forum co-organizers.

You can read or download the notes from the teleconference here.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Bulgaria takes over the SEEHN Presidency for January-June 2011

Bulgaria took over the SEEHN Presidency on 1 January 2011 for a period of 6 months until 30 June 2011. The Bulgarian Minister of Health, Dr Stefan Konstantinov, is now the SEEHN President, succeeding in this position the Albanian Minister of Health, Dr Petrit Vasili.

The SEEHN Presidency rotates on a 6 months basis on an alphabetical order. Bosnia & Herzegovina and Bulgaria agreed to change places for Jan-Jun 2011 so that the SEEHN Presidency of B&H can oversee the 3rd SEE Ministers of Health Forum "Health in All Policies in the SEE: A Shared Goal and Responsibility" that will take place in Banja Luka on 13-14 October 2011.

SEEHN Presidency and Secretariat Congratulate the MFA in Skopje for the ratification of the Host Agreement

The SEEHN President (Jul-Dec 2010) Albanian Minister of Health, Dr Petrit Vasili, sent a letter on 7 December 2010 to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Macedonia, Mr Antonio Milososki, to express his congratulations on the occasion of signing of the Host Agreement for the new Secretariat in Skopje. The agreement was signed during the 24th meeting of the SEEHN in Tirana, in November 2010.

Also on the same day, the WHO Regional Director for Europe, Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab, sent a letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Macedonia, Mr Milososki, to express the appreciation of WHO/Europe for MKD's efforts in fostering the regional cooperation in public health in the SEE, and to express WHO/Europe's support to the country for the ratification of the Host Agreement that paves the way for establishing the new SEEHN Secretariat in Skopje.

You can read or download the letter of Albanian Minister of Health here.

You can read or download the letter of WHO/Europe Regional Director here.