New Minister of Health of Lithuania visits WHO/Europe

Ms Rimantė Šalaševičiūtė visited WHO/Europe for the first time on 6 November 2014 to meet with Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO Regional Director for Europe, and other staff to discuss continued collaboration in 2014–2017 and a number of key issues:

• optimizing health systems, pricing of medicines, reducing waiting lists and primary health care;
• child and adolescent health: specifically child maltreatment, violence and injury prevention;
• the implementation of the Lithuanian health programme 2014–2025;
• the Evidence-informed Policy Network (EVIPNet);
• environment and health and the work of the European Environment and Health Ministerial Board (EHMB); and
• preparations for the sixty-fifth session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe, which will be held in Vilnius, Lithuania on 14–17 September 2015.

The delegation also included Ms Ingrida Zurlyte, Head of Country Office, Lithuania; Ms Radvile Jakaitiene, Chief Specialist, European Union Affairs and International Relations Division, Ministry of Health, and WHO national counterpart; and His Excellency Vytautas Pinkus, Ambassador of the Republic of Lithuania to the Kingdom of Denmark and to the Republic of Iceland.