Event highlights
Senior representatives from health and social sectors across the South-eastern Europe Health Network (SEEHN) gathered in Bar, Montenegro, for a regional workshop co-hosted by WHO/Europe and the Central European Initiative (CEI). The event marked the first regional technical engagement with SEEHN Member States to advance the proposed actions under the forthcoming WHO European Strategy on Ageing is Living (2026–2030).
Bringing together expertise from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Israel, the Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, and Slovenia, the workshop served as a platform to align efforts, exchange innovations and shape shared priorities for healthy and active ageing in the subregion.
Participants identified the following key subregional priorities:
- strengthening primary health care and long-term care as foundations for resilient, age-inclusive systems;
- investing in the health and care workforce, including geriatric competencies and caregiver support;
- promoting digital inclusion and health literacy for older adults;
- expanding community-based services and creating dementia-inclusive environments; and
- improving data systems to monitor functional ability, service quality and equity in ageing.
Countries emphasized the need for tailored technical support, practical tools and peer learning to build national capacity and readiness for implementation. WHO/Europe’s support in facilitating cross-sectoral collaboration and advancing equity in healthy ageing was seen as critical.
“This workshop demonstrates the value of subregional platforms like SEEHN in bringing countries together to translate shared vision into shared action,” said Dr Natasha Azzopardi-Muscat, WHO/Europe’s Director of Health Systems.
Dr Tatiana Paduraru, Head of the SEEHN Secretariat, added, “We are deeply grateful for SEEHN Member States’ leadership in identifying priority actions that are grounded in local realities yet regionally aligned.”
The workshop laid the foundation for subregional cooperation and joint initiatives, with SEEHN and CEI functioning as key platforms to accelerate action and implementation on healthy ageing across south-eastern Europe.