Monday, September 5, 2011

New SEEHN EC/Secretariat Liaison Officer to Support Organization of 3rd Ministerial Forum in Banja Luka

The SEEHN Executive Committee and Secretariat have appointed a new Liaison Officer to support the local organization of the 3rd SEE Ministers of Health Forum in Banja Luka.

Ms Jelena Kundacina, kindly seconded by the IOM, will work closely with Deputy Minister Amela Lolic and her local organizing team, in close cooperation and communication with the RCC, the Ministry of Civil Affairs of BIH, the Ministry of Health of BIH/FBIH, the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs of BIH/RS, the WHO Country Office in BIH, under the direct supervision of Dr Maria Ruseva, Ms Snezana Cicevalieva and Dr Amela Lolic.

Jelena has a BSc in psychology and an MA in political science: She has written her Master's thesis on migrant mental health issues, focusing on Spain (as one of the main entry points for migrants entering the EU). She speaks Serbo-Croatian, English, Spanish, French, Catalan and a bit of Italian: Jelena has been born in Belgrade and has moved to Canada (Toronto) in 1993. She has gained a substantial international experience by travelling and teaching English in Spain for a year, and in Seoul, South Korea for another year. She has participated in Dr Berlin's EU Study Tour in 2010 and has done internship at EAHC (DG SANCO) in Luxembourg. Currently she is working with Roumjana at IOM offices in Brussels.

New WHO/Europe Publications

Technical guidance on water-related disease surveillance
(Edited by E. Funari, T. Kistemann, S. Herbst and A. Rechenburg)

This guidance is intended to assist the countries that are Parties to the Protocol on Water and Health to the 1992 Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes in establishing and/or strengthening their detection and early warning systems, contingency plans and capacity to respond to outbreaks of water-related disease accordance with article 8 of the Protocol.

The guidance reviews the main threats to health related to water services, recalls basic concepts of epidemiology and disease surveillance and advises on data management and analysis. It will therefore also support countries’ efforts towards national and international health security, in line with the International Health Regulations (2005). The Parties to the Protocol approved this guidance in November 2010.

For more information about the book, how to order and a link to the electronic version check: http://www.euro.who.int/en/what-we-publish/abstracts/technical-guidance-on-water-related-disease-surveillance



Policy guidance on water-related disease surveillance

This booklet contains guidance on the policy related to water-related disease surveillance developed by the Task Force on Water-related Disease Surveillance established under the Protocol on Water and Health to the 1992 Convention on Protection and Use of Transboundary Waters and International Lakes.

The guidance explains countries’ legal obligations related to disease surveillance under the Protocol and other international frameworks, and gives advice on policy to set up and maintain an effective and efficient disease surveillance system. These explanations are coupled with illustrative examples of good practice in the European Region.

For more information about the book, how to order and a link to the electronic version check: http://www.euro.who.int/en/what-we-publish/sections/featured-publication/policy-guidance-on-water-related-disease-surveillance