Dear All from the SEE Health Network,
Dear partners!
YES! It happened on the 7th of March in Ckopje!
The SEE Health Network Secretariat was inaugurated and launched! See the media-coverage!
I quote below the message of yesterday of Ms. Snezhanna Chichevalieva, Public Health Officer, WHO Europe, to the SEEHN National Health Coordinators:
“Dear National Health Coordinators,
Dear members of the Executive Committee,
Dear Representatives of the Partners
Allow me to express my gratitude for your contribution to the overall process of sub-regional cooperation in health in the SEEHN that has brought it to this point of the Inauguration of the Seat of the SEEHN Secretariat in Skopje, MKD, on the 7th of March, 2013. I commend you for the success of the event, and also the ambassadors of the member states of the SEEHN present at the event , that have given the event high level international profile, thus making the SEEHN commitment to further develop SEEHN as a health diplomacy tool a reality.
I hereby inform that the Director of WHO, Regional Office for Europe with her high level delegation , has met the President of the State, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and of course the Minister of Health, thus expressing WHO support to the SEEHN, but also acting as the SEEHN ambassador. We are most grateful to Mrs. Zsuzsana Jakab for this extraordinary and continuous support to the SEEHN and innovative approach to partnerships in health. Further aligning SEEHN sub-regional policy with H2020 and especially the SEEHN H2020 implementing plan, were stressed as a priority for further SEEHN action both by the SEEHN member states at the event and by the SEEHN Executive Committee at their meeting.
We are grateful that at those high level meetings of WHO RD with country leadership, an understanding and support has been expressed to the SEEHN and its Secretariat’ further strengthening.
We express our appreciation for the host country efforts, and especially Minister of Health, Mr. Todorov for investing in the SEEHN (Secretariat) and organizing such an successful event.
I would also wish to thank our people at the Secretariat: Mr. Jovica Andovski, Deputy Minister of Health (Acting Head of the Secretariat) and Mrs. Sanja Sazdovska and Aleksandar Kacarski, the MoH MKD seconded persons for their extraordinary efforts and huge work done in organizing this huge event. They were brilliant.
The Secretariat now proceeds with its regular activities, which are quite of a number and a scope, as discussed at the Executive Committee meeting on the 7th March (back to back with the round table), but with your support, I have no doubt of the results that we will achieve.
We have got the clear message by our ExeCom to focus on :
• providing sustainable development of the SEEHN and collect member states contributions (as per MoU 2009 and amendments 2011) not later than the end of Moldova Presidency (30 June, 2013)
• providing for increased visibility of our efforts through adopting both the SEEHN Communication Strategy and develop contemporary tools for communication and exchange
• Developing the SEEHN H2020 Action plan.
• Mobilize our partners to work with the SEEHN on concrete actions (Many thanks to HPH (Hanne), Project HOPE (Katerina) and our new partner aboard the SEEHN: Center for regional research and cooperation in the SEE -Studiorum (Neda) that have been working on the 7th and 8th March together at a concrete program, together with Maria (Ruseva) that we will be all presented at the SEEHN June 2013 Plenary meeting in Moldova)
• Mobilize further resources to support the SEEHN 2013 agenda (Thank you Alex (Berlin) for working (on the 6th and 8th of March) with SEEHN RHDC in Skopje and with MNE delegation in this direction.
As for the immediate action, the Secretariat will come up with full scale report on the event next week, based on which we will organize further activities.
The photo album will be shared with you shortly. For now, please find enclosed the press clipping to inform you of the excellent and very positive media coverage of the event, despite of ongoing process of local elections in the country.
The best regards, Snezhana
