IPA CIS Work in Field of Health Protection Presented at WHO Regional Committee for Europe Session in Kazakhstan

On 23-26 October the 73d session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe was held in Astana . There were presented the work of the IPA CIS in the field of medical and social protection of refugees and migrants.

Ministers of health and other representatives of 53 WHO Member States in the European Region, as well as experts from international health organizations took part in the work of the session.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge addressed the experts. It was noted that 2023 marks 75 years since the establishment of the WHO and 45 years since the signing of the Alma-Ata Declaration on Primary Health Care.

The session discussed the issues of public healthcare, accessibility of quality health care for all categories of citizens, improvement of sanitation conditions in the Regional Committee’s Member States and also the main problems of European region in the healthcare sector.

The experts drew attention to the need to ensure the sustainability of healthcare systems and to increase the budget for medical care. A special focus was put on the importance of organisation of primary health and social care.

The importance of spreading a healthy lifestyle to help withstand shocks was also addressed.

Secretary of the IPA CIS Permanent Commission on Social Policy and Human Rights, Executive Secretary of the IPA CIS Expert Advisory Board on Public Health Evgenia Vladimirova presented the peculiarities of the formation of the model legislative framework of the IPA CIS in the field of health care and medical and social protection of refugees and migrants.

The adoption of Model Laws and recommendations is aimed to develop harmonized approaches to solve emerging problems in various spheres, as well as to bring the fundamental international documents of regional legislation in accordance with the norms of international law.

Secretary of the Permanent Commission spoke about the Modal Migration Code for the CIS Member Nations, the Model Law on Refugees, Recommendations on the Protection of Medical Staff and Facilities During Armed Conflicts and other documents adopted by the the Assembly.

According to the Long-Term Plan of Model Law-Making of the CIS for 2023-2025, the work on a Model Law on Medical Supplies in the CIS Member Nations was underway. The IPA CIS representative highlighted that the document would allow to form harmonized approaches to legal regulation in the fiels of drug provision in the national legislation of the Commonwealth countries.

As a result of the discussion, the session adopted the Action Plan for Refugee and Migrant Health in the WHO European Region 2023-2030, a framework for action on medical and medical-social staff and a roadmap to fight antimicrobial resistance.