A new Center for action in conditions of epidemics and other public health emergencies opens

At the opening of the Center, Minister of Health of North Assoc. Dr. Venko Filipce thanked the WHO for its continued support in the fight against KOVID-19.

The KOVID-19 pandemic reaffirmed the urgent need for rapid, effective and strategic information on epidemics and health, as well as the need for collaborative mechanisms that can assist public health professionals in Northern Macedonia.

Today, the Ministry of Health and the Institute of Public Health of Northern Macedonia open the new Center for Action in conditions of epidemics and other public health emergencies in Skopje. This center will provide centralized real-time information, situation monitoring, reporting and advice on how to deal with public health events and emergencies.

Combining the epidemiological expertise of the Institute of Public Health, the Center will offer digital solutions for an early warning system for timely reporting and detection of public health events. The Center will also improve supervision and coordination between epidemiologists, laboratory staff and public health experts from the ten Centers for Public Health and 21 regional units in Northern Macedonia.

- I congratulate Northern Macedonia for its commitment to strengthening the capacity of public health to combat KOVID-19. This new center is a pioneering example of how the WHO can, in partnership with national authorities, strengthen health security and gather as much public health-related information as possible not only to combat the current pandemic but also for future emergencies. "What could happen in the years to come," said Dr Hans Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe.

The WHO is assisting in the operationalization of the Center by providing technical guidance and a public health expert who will be an integral part of the national team. This support was provided by USAID, which provided grants for this purpose. The joint external evaluation of the readiness of Northern Macedonia and its capacity for responding to health emergencies, conducted last year, recommended the establishment of such a center. The Center will contribute to the construction of the national system for response to health emergencies and to the fulfillment of the obligations from the International Health Regulations (IHL, since 2005).

At the opening of the Center, Minister of Health of North Assoc. Dr. Venko Filipce thanked the WHO for its continued support in the fight against KOVID-19.

- This center for action in health emergencies will be critical for the readiness and reaction of the state. During epidemics, the Center will operate non-stop, ie. 24/7, 365 days a year, so that it will provide support in decision making, ongoing work, networking, informing the population about the risks, (re) relocation of staff, how many employees are needed, logistics and planning - said Minister Filipce.

During the event, Dr. Jihan Tavilah, WHO Representative in Northern Macedonia, referred to how the WHO co-operation with the Ministry of Health in this joint venture could inform other Western Balkan countries on how to increase institutional capacities in the area of ​​health security and collection of information relevant to public health.

Dear reader,

Our access to web content is free, because we believe in equality in information, regardless of whether someone can pay or not. Therefore, in order to continue our work, we ask for the support of our community of readers by financially supporting the Free Press. Become a member of Sloboden Pechat to help the facilities that will enable us to deliver long-term and quality information and TOGETHER let's ensure a free and independent voice that will ALWAYS BE ON THE PEOPLE'S SIDE.

SUPPORT A FREE PRESS.
WITH AN INITIAL AMOUNT OF 60 DENARS

Video of the day