H. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe: Without Health, there is Nothing
“Investing in the resilience of the health system, public trust and equity of services is not a matter of tomorrow – it is a matter to be addressed immediately,” urged Dr. Hans Kluge, Regional Director for Europe at the World Health Organization (WHO) during his visit to Lithuania. On 19 September, Dr. Kluge visited the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences (LSMU) and the two WHO Collaborating Centres accredited here.
The honourable guest met with the LSMU Rector, Prof. Rimantas Benetis; Minister of Health, Aurimas Pečkauskas; Rector Emeritus, Prof. Vilius Grabauskas; and Head of WHO Representation in Lithuania, Ingrida Zurlytė. He also engaged in discussions with representatives of the WHO Collaborating Centres and members of the LSMU academic community.
During the meeting with the LSMU leadership, the participants explored the possibilities of establishing other WHO collaborating centres at LSMU, as well as how the University could prepare students to become more actively involved in health diplomacy, global health, and working for and with the WHO.
LSMU is unique in that it has two WHO Collaborating Centres, the only ones in Lithuania: the Health Research Institute at the Faculty of Public Health accredited since 1983 as a Collaborating Centre for the Prevention and Control Noncommunicable Diseases, and the Faculty of Nursing accredited in 2016 as a WHO Collaborating Centre for Nursing Studies and Practice.
LSMU ready to expand cooperation
Prof. Rimantas Benetis, Rector of LSMU, stressed that LSMU is open to more active and closer cooperation with WHO. The idea of establishing new collaborating centres at the University in the future is not excluded, as the University, which specialises in life, health, veterinary and agricultural sciences, has a huge potential for studies, research, and clinical activities.
Most of the LSMU teachers also work at Kaunas Klinikos and LSMU Kaunas Hospital, both of which are a strong base for the University’s clinical practice and scientific research.
“I cannot imagine a future without personalised medicine. Its development is very capital-intensive, but very important for the future. The concept of One Health is equally important: LSMU has a strong focus on human and animal health. We would also encourage more active involvement of the University students and researchers in the WHO activities,” said Prof. R. Benetis.
“The possibility of further development of the WHO centres is one of the key messages of this meeting,” – said Aurimas Pečkauskas, Minister of Health, in response to the LSMU Rector’s insights on the possibility of establishing more WHO collaborating centres at the University.
Health issues transcend national borders
During the meetings with the LSMU leaders and academic community, Dr. Kluge gave an overview of the challenges facing European health systems and stressed that health issues transcend national borders and political divides, and that no single country can tackle them alone.
Major challenges include climate change, inconsistencies in health systems that have not fully recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic, staff shortage, and the high professional and psychological pressures on health professionals, cuts in health spending in many countries, and the growing gap in terms of the access to health services. The war in Ukraine is yet another issue that exacerbates the situation.
“These are turbulent, unprecedented times that are having a major impact on health and health systems everywhere. Recently, the ‘monkeypox’ outbreak was declared a public health emergency of international concern – the second time in two years. Last week I visited Ukraine. Winter is approaching, people are again at risk of insufficient heating, mental health is deteriorating, and health services are hard to access in many areas,” said the WHO representative.
Dr. Kluge also noted the pain points of the Lithuanian health system: our country has one of the highest mortality rates for preventable and avoidable diseases in the European Union, as well as a huge gender gap in life expectancy, with men dying on average 9 years earlier than women. Despite significant progress, alcohol consumption rates are still high: according to the data for the year 2023, the average annual consumption of the Lithuanian population aged 15 years and over was 11 litres of absolute alcohol.
Collaborating Centres: looking to the future
“We are proud and at the same time feel a great responsibility to have been a WHO Collaborating Centre for many years. It helps us to conduct important international research and to apply the results of this research in practice, to contribute to the formation of public health policy in Lithuania and other countries,” emphasised Prof. Mindaugas Štelemėkas, Head of the WHO Collaborating Centre for the Prevention and Control Noncommunicable Diseases.
Prof. Jūratė Macijauskienė and Prof. Aurelija Blaževičienė, heads of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Nursing Education and Practice, stressed the importance of the results of the visit for the University and for Lithuania as a whole. In the end, it was a great honour to have welcomed the WHO Director for Europe to the LSMU for the first time. It is also a great responsibility for the University to help the WHO to implement its strategic goals in the European region.
According to Prof. Jūratė Macijauskienė, Dean of the Faculty of Nursing, various aspects of development of cooperation and future work were discussed during the visit.
“Healthcare systems require integrated solutions to function effectively, and universities, healthcare institutions, the Ministry of Health and policy makers can achieve common goals only by working together.
Nurses are of particular importance in the healthcare system, as is the need to empower them to perform to the best of their training. Evidence-based medicine and nursing are also essential in clinical practice, which is the only way to ensure high quality services that meet people’s needs,” she noted.
Healthy ageing is another hot topic for Europe. The WHO Collaborating Centre specialising in the field of Nursing will support the WHO during the next mandate in implementing the concept of healthy ageing and age-friendly communities.
“The insights of Dr. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, on the future plans and the assessment of the past periods are a great confirmation for us that we are meeting the expectations of the European region,” said Prof. Aurelija Blaževičienė.
Invited to involve young people in positive change
Presenting the priorities for the coming year, the WHO Regional Director for Europe called for a more focused approach and for the involvement of young health professionals in the transformation.
Priority actions include strengthening countries’ health security, because there is no security without health, i.e. closing the huge gaps in health inequalities, alleviating the suffering of those affected by war in the European region; strengthening pandemic preparedness; ensuring access to vaccines, medicines and healthcare for all in need; and updating measures at national, regional and global level to fight communicable diseases such as multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, and sexually transmitted infections.
The WHO representative also called for urgent attention to be paid to the unfinished business of managing chronic non-communicable and mental health diseases and their risk factors, to mitigating the health impacts associated with climate change in line with the One Health concept, and to a fundamental shift in attitudes towards healthy ageing, with a focus on healthy ageing across the life course.
“We need decisive action from governments and businesses to reduce the impact of risk factors in Lithuania and globally,” emphasised Dr. Kluge.
The WHO Regional Director for Europe took part in discussions with LSMU students and the Faculties of Nursing and Public Health. The meetings included active discussions on the role of nurses, the prestige of the profession, strategies to strengthen the role of public health professionals in health care systems, etc.
“Young people should be actively involved in decisions that will affect their own lives and health. I strongly encourage you to engage with the Youth4Health network to make sure your voice is heard and you can take concrete action to improve the future of health,” Dr. Hans Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, urged the future health professionals.