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Public health news from around the WHO European Region.
News highlights
May 2025
At this fourth meeting, EPW2 focal points and national counterparts expressed their appreciation for the consultative process underway to develop the framework and for the structure and approach outlined in the document.
Participants underlined their support for the special initiatives on primary health care and strengthening the health system response to violence against women and girls, emphasizing national commitments in these areas. Several focal points also praised the cross-cutting approach to primary health care set out in the EPW2 to support other functions. Read more
TOP STORIES
1 April 2025
Obesity must be treated as a chronic, health system issue – integrated across primary, secondary and tertiary care, say a group of experts from countries who attended the WHO Demonstration Platform on Obesity Management in Dublin, Ireland in January 2025. Ireland, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain joined WHO/Europe’s Special Initiative on NCDs [Noncommunicable Diseases] and Innovation (SNI) and the WHO European Centre for Primary Health Care with the clear message: Health systems worldwide need to prioritize obesity prevention and management as a core component of universal health coverage and NCD control.
31 May is World No Tobacco Day (WNTD). In 2025 WHO and public health champions from across the globe will come together for WNTD to raise awareness about the harmful tactics of the tobacco industry.
Unmasking the appeal: Exposing industry tactics on tobacco and nicotine products.
28-04-2025
Ten-year-old Roman Oleksiv is a survivor. In July 2022 he and his mother Halyna were waiting for a doctor's appointment in Vinnytsia, Ukraine, when missiles hit the clinic. Twenty-six people were killed, including Halyna. Roman was able to crawl out from the wreckage of the building; however, with internal injuries and burns to 45% of his body, the boy’s outlook was bleak. Read more
Communicating the climate crisis: the scientists contending with disinformation and climate anxiety
25-04-2025
07-04-2025
Central Asian health ministers commit to accelerating TB elimination efforts.
WHO/Europe, in partnership with its 5 Central Asian Member States and a range of stakeholders, today launched the TB-Free Central Asia Initiative (CAI) — to accelerate the elimination of tuberculosis (TB), including drug-resistant TB (DR-TB), across the subregion by 2030. Read more
Scale up mental health care within primary health care, WHO research suggests
23-04-2025
Why should societies invest in long-term care? New evidence makes the case for action
23-04-2025
Contracting private providers for health care requires balance, new WHO guidance says
14-04-2025
Countries move away from using coercive measures in mental health care
09-04-2025
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07-04-2025
All mothers deserve to bring life into the world without risking their own. Yet every day, more than 700 women lose their lives globally to preventable maternal complications. This World Health Day (7 April) let us pledge to turn compassion into action and build healthy beginnings and hopeful futures for mothers and newborns everywhere. Read more
COUNTRIES
22-04-2025
Out-of-pocket payments lead to catastrophic health spending in nearly 1 in 10 households (9%) in Montenegro, a new WHO study shows. While the country has made significant strides in addressing gaps in coverage and reducing barriers to accessing health care, catastrophic health spending can prevent people from meeting other basic needs such as food, housing and heating.
“Can people afford to pay for health care? New evidence on financial protection in Montenegro” is the first in-depth analysis of affordable access to health care (financial protection) in Montenegro. It is part of a broader project to strengthen health financing policy in the Western Balkans led by the WHO Barcelona Office for Health Systems Financing and funded by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Enlargement and Eastern Neighbourhood (DG ENEST). Read more
Strengthening knowledge and skill in infection prevention and control in Ukraine
16-04-2025
Committed to cure: Kazakhstan advances equitable access in pediatric oncology
15-04-2025
“Poliovirus-essential” facility in Belgium awarded world’s first Certificate of Containment
10-04-2025
WHO announces new collaborating centre on digital health in Germany
09-04-2025
WHO provides laboratory equipment to enhance diagnostics in Kyrgyzstan
03-04-2025
Ensuring safe drinking-water for Ukrainians: Government works with WHO and UNICEF
03-04-2025
28 May 2025, 14:00–15:00 CEST, online
HO/Europe will host a webinar on 28 May to explore the nuances of health data governance in the age of artificial intelligence (AI). This is the fourteenth webinar in the Decoding Data and Digital Health series, which addresses digital health topics of importance to countries in the WHO European Region. Read more
Bonn Dialogue:
Nature-based solutions and health
22 May 2025 - 10:00 – 12:00 CEST, online
Annual meeting of the Joint Task Force on Health Aspects of Air Pollution (2025)
20 – 21 May 2025 - Virtual
8th UN Global Road Safety Week – Streets for Life: Making Walking and Cycling Safe
12 – 18 May 2025
Eleventh High-level Meeting of the Small Countries Initiative: A focus on innovation
11 – 13 May 2025 - Bled, Slovenia
Transatlantic dialogue on climate change and mental health
08 May 2025 - 15:00 – 17:00 CEST, Virtual / Zoom
