Wednesday morning the update meeting organized on the initiative of San Marino
The first meeting of the 11 Health Ministers of European countries with less than 2 million inhabitants, adhering to the SCI – Small Countries Initiative, an initiative led by San Marino at the WHO, was held on Wednesday 30 December 2022. In addition to the WHO Venice office responsible for coordinating the SCI, the meeting was attended by the WHO Europe Regional Director Hans P. Kluge. The meeting, requested by the Secretary of State Roberto Ciavatta and included in a new cooperation project between small countries which will see the 11 Ministers meet by videoconference every six months, is an opportunity to regulate the future of health care also through the collection of multilateral agreements tending to strengthen the network of dialogue and cooperation. The representatives of Andorra, Cyprus, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Slovenia and San Marino thus returned to meet, by videoconference, after the last annual meeting of the SCI which took place in Bečići last June. In his opening speech, the Secretary of State Roberto Ciavatta formulated some proposals to the 11 Member States regarding the stipulation of agreements aimed at creating specific paths for the employment of specialists and trainees in reciprocal health systems and the creation of privileged paths and concessions to allow students from small countries to enroll in university courses in health subjects. During the meeting, in addition to the update on the challenges to be faced in the immediate future, the creation of a privileged network of mutual assistance and cooperation was discussed to fight future pandemics and health emergencies together, but also to undertake university research or scientific projects far-reaching.
The Secretary of State Roberto Ciavatta then gave the floor to the Regional Director Hans Kluge who stated in his speech: “This network you have set up is the envy of many other small countries in the world. First of all, I thank Minister Ciavatta for having kept his word to meet every six months. To say a lot has happened since we last met in person is an understatement. Our priorities remain the same: respond to the damage caused by the latest health attacks, address immediate health needs in newly accessible areas and prepare for winter”. He concluded his speech by recalling how “No fewer than 40% of physicians in the WHO European Region are close to retirement age. This is why these plans for cooperation between states, to address challenges and promote development, are essential. We at WHO Europe will not fail to give our support”.
Then all the representatives of the States present took part, to whom Secretary Ciavatta gave the floor from time to time. Finally, the representatives of Luxembourg updated on the organization and topics that will be covered in the 9th High Level Meeting, which will be held in 2023. The proposals were carefully evaluated and shared by all the representatives of the Small Countries Initiative: in the coming months, the bureaucratic and legislative foundations will be laid to be able to implement these paths. Secretary Ciavatta concluded the meeting by announcing that “The Republic of San Marino will proudly host the biennial global forum on bioethics in 2024. On this occasion, we will be happy to host all the representatives who sit at this table”.
cs Secretariat of State for Health