Poland

Activities to mark World Health Day in Poland included two press conferences organized by the Ministry of Health and the Voivodship Sanitary and Epidemiological Station in Warsaw in collaboration with the WHO Country Office.

The first conference was held on 3 April 2012 in the seat of the Ministry of Health in Warsaw. Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Health, Dr Aleksander Sopliński made an opening speech,  followed by Dr Paulina Miśkiewicz, Director of the WHO Country Office, who outlined the problem of ageing societies and WHO’s priorities in addressing this issue. Prof. Mirosław Wysocki, Director of the National Institute of Public Health − the National Institute of Hygiene, discussed the situation of the elderly in Poland. Other participants expanded on the ministerial policy on ageing, including the provisions of the National Programme of Long-term Care and the permanent education of medical staff in the field of geriatrics.

The second event was organized on 11 April 2012 under the auspices of the Voivodship Sanitary and Epidemiological Station in collaboration with the Governor’s Bureau of the Mazowieckie Voivodship in Warsaw. It included a presentation by a representative of the Polish police on the concurrent social campaign entitled: “Safe old person”, which concerns the issue of security of older persons. The well-attended conference was launched by the Governor of the Mazowieckie Voivodship, Jacek Kozłowski, who pointed to the burning problem of ensuring adequate care for the elderly and evident shortcomings in this area. Dr Paulina Miśkiewicz introduced the issue of population ageing and its implications for society. She also remarked on the stereotypes connected with older people and indicated how to fight them. Other participants gave presentations on social services delivered to this group of society and on the role of nurses in promoting healthy lifestyles.