The Minister of Well being introduced the opening of the work of the tenth Ministerial Session of the Small States Initiative of the World Well being Group
Ministers and Deputy Ministers of Well being from a complete of 13 European states, Malta, Luxembourg, Andorra, San Marino, Iceland, Monaco, Montenegro, Latvia, Estonia, Slovenia, Moldova, North Macedonia and Cyprus, the Commissioner for Well being and Meals Security of the EU, Stella Kyriakidou, and the WHO Regional Director for Europe, Hans Henri Kluge, participated on Thursday morning within the launch of the tenth Excessive-Degree Assembly of the Small States Initiative of the World Well being Group Europe Area, going down in Limassol, 10 – 12 April.
In his opening speech, the Minister of Well being, Michalis Damianos, underlined that this assembly serves as a platform for the collaborating states to share information, finest practices and type partnerships, which can give impetus to their mission within the discipline of Well being.
“It's a spot the place concepts shall be born, partnerships shall be created, and methods shall be refined,” he stated.
Michalis Damianos famous that an vital lesson realized from the current COVID-19 pandemic was that small nations are extra weak as they lack the bargaining energy to safe the required sources to beat the disaster, whereas indicating that Cyprus had the fortunate to be a part of the European Union household that allowed her to entry crucial vaccines and do effectively in the course of the pandemic, for which she expressed her honest gratitude to the EU Commissioner for Well being and Meals Security.
The Minister of Well being additionally emphasised that because the Well being Ministers of small states meet below the banner of the Small States Initiative, all of them acknowledge the distinctive challenges and alternatives going through nations with smaller populations and extra restricted sources, but in addition the big potential and resilience that are inherent within the communities of small states. “Right this moment, we unite to reap the benefits of these prospects, to amplify our voices and to defend the well being and well-being of our peoples,” pressured Mr. Damianos.
He additionally famous that after session, the Small States Initiative Summit will deal with most cancers points, together with a particular deal with inhabitants screening packages and childhood most cancers, well being and local weather change, the influence and experiences of small nations.
“Together with the problems nonetheless being processed from earlier conferences, we may have a wealthy political and technical agenda, geared toward benefiting public well being,” he stated, including that “on this room, we’re greater than Ministers of Well being. We’re architects of change, advocates of progress and guardians of public well being. We now have the ability to remodel well being in our nations and cleared the path to a brighter and more healthy future for generations to come back.”
“Collectively, we characterize a wealth of experience and expertise, all converging in the direction of a typical objective: safeguarding and selling public well being. Collectively, we will leverage our collective experience and sources to deal with widespread challenges,” he emphasised.
For her half, European Commissioner for Well being and Meals Security Stella Kyriakidou famous that since its institution in 2013, the WHO Small States Initiative has been guided by the assumption that “we will do extra by working collectively”, and has offered a strong platform to take action.
Stressing that simply because a Member State is small doesn’t imply its challenges are small, Commissioner Kyriakidou underlined that for smaller nations some challenges are even larger – akin to retaining their well being workforce and selling the digitization of methods their well being, stressing that these guiding ideas type the idea of the EU's robust European Well being Union (HEU).
In keeping with Commissioner Kyriakidou, one of many fundamental pillars of the European Well being Union is the European Well being Knowledge Area which can allow the safe change of well being knowledge for main use throughout borders.
“Will probably be a recreation changer for continuity of look after sufferers,” he stated, noting that some small member states akin to Cyprus, Estonia, Malta, Luxembourg and Latvia have already began sharing digital prescriptions or affected person summaries , by way of the EU's “MyHealth@EU” platform.
Commissioner Kyriakidou additionally stated that the European Well being Knowledge Space can be in regards to the re-use of well being knowledge for analysis, innovation and policy-making, supported by the best requirements of privateness and knowledge safety.
He famous that the Fee helps Member States in some ways as they strengthen their well being methods, together with by way of the EU4Health programme, “essentially the most bold EU funding program for funding ever launched within the well being sector”.
Declaring that one other vital pillar of the European Well being Union is that of psychological well being, Stella Kyriakidou stated the EU has a complete strategy to psychological well being, with 20 particular flagship actions supported by a €1.2 billion price range with funding alternatives , with the purpose of tackling stigma and discrimination and supporting weak populations, with a specific emphasis on younger most cancers sufferers.
Commissioner Kyriakidou emphasised that one other key pillar pertains to the necessity to deal with inequality in entry to medicines, in such a method that every one sufferers – regardless of the place they reside in Europe – have entry to the medicines they want.
As he famous, the reform of the principles he initiated proposes varied measures to facilitate entry to every member state, together with the smaller ones. “Small member states may have extra alternatives to take part in decentralized authorization processes and produce medicines to their markets,” he defined.
The European Commissioner for Well being and Meals Security additionally underlined that the European Well being Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) has additionally been instrumental within the EU's responses to crises by making certain entry to medical countermeasures, by way of actions akin to joint provides and the storage of shares.
As he identified, that is notably vital for smaller Member States, which generally shouldn’t have entry to the identical merchandise as their neighbours. “However our work doesn’t cease right here,” he pressured, recalling that on April 24 the Alliance for Vital Medicines shall be launched, which, he defined, will coordinate work at EU stage to deal with and stop shortages of important medicines in all Member States, no matter their measurement.
In keeping with Commissioner Kyriakidou, one of the crucial vital pillars of the EEY is the European Plan to Battle Most cancers, with an unprecedented price range of greater than 4 billion euros. “It’s holistic, from prevention, early detection, analysis and remedy to high quality of life,” he famous, indicating that 4 years on the Plan is delivering on the guarantees of its founders, making a distinction to sufferers, households and carers. .
He additionally pressured that the European Plan to Battle Most cancers “illuminates the wants of youngsters residing with most cancers”, explaining that for this reason the Fee is funding the European Reference Community on childhood most cancers and likewise goals to create by 2025 an EU community of complete most cancers facilities to enhance entry to analysis and remedy for most cancers sufferers of all ages.
Commissioner Kyriakidou concluded by noting the Fee's cooperation with the WHO Europe Area, a cooperation which, as she indicated, “is deep in lots of areas, and with the challenges we face it’s extra well timed and vital than ever”.
WHO Regional Director for Europe, Hans Henri Kluge, famous that small nations – each individually and collectively – have a central position to play in serving to to deal with the challenges going through the well being sector and seize the alternatives.
He identified that 25 years in the past Cyprus and Malta had been already placing market failures on entry to medicines excessive on the political agenda, and that 4 a long time in the past, small Caribbean and Pacific nations had been main the way in which in sounding the alarm about local weather change and that small nations in Europe have executed the identical over the previous decade, but in addition that 5 years in the past the WHO Small States Initiative arrange a activity power to deal with the looming disaster within the sector's workforce of Well being, and emphasised that “all of those points are right this moment key points for all nations worldwide”.
The WHO Regional Director for Europe famous that in this assembly Ministers will deal with various urgent points, such because the influence of the local weather disaster on well being in our area, and referred to as for the momentum created throughout final yr's COP28 to not be misplaced in Dubai, forward of the subsequent COP29 convention in Baku, Azerbaijan. Additionally, he stated, within the provision of high quality most cancers well being care companies by way of entry to important and life-saving diagnostics, therapies and most cancers care all through the course of the illness.
Hans Henri Kluge shared with the collaborating Ministers a few of his reflections and what he has realized over the previous 4 years. First, he stated, crises are the defining function of our time, and resilience necessitates a dual-track strategy. Second, no nation can stand up to and face alone the challenges going through the Well being sector. Third, multilateralism is the glue that holds Europe and the world collectively in these occasions of accelerating fragmentation.
Specifically concerning the latter, the WHO Regional Director for Europe praised the management and imaginative and prescient of the President of the Republic, Nikos Christodoulides, for the creation of the maritime humanitarian hall from Cyprus to obtain the much-needed help to the individuals of Gaza.
Additionally, the WHO Regional Director for Europe spoke about WHO's precedence to develop and use expertise, together with synthetic intelligence, to satisfy tomorrow's well being wants.
Recalling that within the subsequent two months WHO will launch the Digital Well being Strategic Partnership Initiative to provide a voice to sufferers, customers and healthcare staff to co-create digital options and area for trade to listen to considerations and their wants, Hans Henri Kluge invited the Ministers to replicate on how the WHO European Area can put together and act as a steady companion of Member States, as a pal and advocate on a journey into an uncharted territory of searching for well being and prosperity for all.
The work of the Assembly continues right this moment Thursday and tomorrow Friday with displays and discussions on matters such because the struggle towards most cancers within the nations of the Small States Initiative, the promotion of human sources for well being, entry to medicines, childhood most cancers, and well being and local weather change.
In the course of the Assembly the Ministers are additionally anticipated to undertake the “Cyprus Declaration” a convergence textual content concerning the priorities of small states within the Well being sector.
Supply: KYPE
