DUSHANBE, June 17, Asia-Plus — WHO European ministerial conference on health systems, entitled “Health Systems, Health and Wealth” will be held in Tallinn, Estonia from June 25-25, press release issued by the World Health Organization said.
Health ministers from 53 WHO European member states will meet in Tallinn to discuss a different way to approach health systems, and a WHO European Charter on Health Systems is to be signed.
According to press release, countries across Europe are experiencing rising costs, ageing populations and increasingly expensive drugs and technology. Europe”s great success, the ability to provide universal health care, is now being challenged by some who ask whether this is a luxury that we can no longer afford. European health and finance ministers from across the WHO European Region will meet in Tallinn to discuss a different way of approaching health systems. They are expected to finalize and sign the new WHO European Charter on Health Systems, and commit to concrete action to make health systems stronger.
In Tallinn, ministers will discuss evidence relating to a triangular set of relationships linking health, wealth and health systems. Individuals and countries with greater resources can make healthier choices in terms of what they eat, how they spend their leisure, and the risks they face in employment.
Yet there is also considerable evidence that health contributes to wealth. Good health raises wages: a 10% increase in health satisfaction enhanced women”s hourly wages by 0.14-0.47% and men”s by 0.09-0.88%.
Representatives of the WHO Regional Office for Europe and the Estonian Government will be joined by scientists, civil society delegations and high-level representatives from the European Commission, the Council of Europe, the European Investment Bank, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the United Nations Children”s Fund and the World Bank, bringing together over 500 delegates from the 53 Member States of the WHO European Region.
