New WHO Country Office to open in Greece
WHO/Philip Hamilton
Dr Ioannis Baskozos, Secretary General of Public Health in Greece, and Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO Regional Director for Europe, signed off on the final details to open a WHO country office in Greece. This amendment to the host agreement, signed in Geneva, Switzerland, on 17 January 2018, will elevate collaboration between the 2 organizations, strengthening WHO’s operational capacities on the ground.
WHO support to Greece
WHO/Europe has been present in Greece since 2013. In 2016, a new collaboration initiative was launched with financial support from the European Commission, under which WHO/Europe has provided technical support to Greece through a project office hosted by the Ministry of Health.
This support has focused on health systems strengthening, public health, emergency medical care and integration of services, human resources for health, health technology assessment, health financing and financial protection, as well as other priority areas.
A key outcome of the collaboration so far has been Greece’s new law on primary health care. This law will ensure the roll-out of a network of local health units (known as TOMYs) providing primary health-care services at the community level. The services offered by these units are being promoted through a nationwide communication campaign, also supported by WHO.
The formal opening of the WHO Country Office in Greece is scheduled to take place later in 2018.
