Bled, Slovenia 12 May 2025
Honourable Minister Prevolnik, honourable ministers, heads of delegations, colleagues, friends: dober dan!
It’s genuinely a joy to be with you today, here in this beautiful setting of Bled, in the foothills of the Julian Alps.
On behalf of WHO/Europe, deep thanks go to Slovenia for hosting the 11th High-level Meeting of the Small Countries Initiative (SCI) – amid mounting geopolitical challenges, with multilateral collaboration needed more than ever.
Slovenia has a proud legacy in public health dating back to the 19th century, with primary care foundations strengthened and championed all the more in the wake of the Second World War.
WHO itself was established at that time, over 75 years ago, with our far-reaching Constitution enshrining health as a human right.
The Slovenian Constitution also clearly states, “Everyone shall have the right to health care under the conditions provided by the law”.
At a time when millions across the WHO European Region and globally still face financial hardship and are unable to access optimal health care, this bears repeating: everyone shall have the right to health care.
Friends, our annual gathering of small countries is always a rich experience, but particularly in these turbulent times.
In the face of adversity, against all odds, small countries continue to show how to develop, lead and thrive.
I have followed your progress all through my first term as Regional Director, and will continue to do so throughout my second.
How you have placed health and well-being at the forefront of political agendas; stood united in advocating for the needs of small countries – whether on health workforce, medicines or in global discussions on the Pandemic Treaty; forged new partnerships, such as those on tourism and health; and advanced progress towards universal health coverage, while also leveraging solid public health evidence including the noncommunicable disease (NCD) “Best Buys” – key quick measures to help prevent and respond to NCDs.
Our world has changed profoundly since we first met in 2014 in San Marino:
- Our health profile is changing.
- Emergencies have doubled in number over the past decade.
- The climate crisis is claiming an ever-growing toll.
- We now have fewer people under the age of 15 than people over 65.
- Populations have lost trust in science and authorities.
- An unacceptable number of women and girls experience sexual violence.
- NCDs and mental health conditions are now a major concern.
- As a result, our systems and our workforce are under pressure as never before.
All of these megatrends have informed our second European Programme of Work (EPW2) for the next 5 years.
Inspired by you, we at WHO/Europe have introduced longer term “foresight” as critical planning in EPW2.
With key regional experts, we envision 4 possible scenarios in shaping the future of health:
- continuation or business-as-usual – with haphazard, uneven progress;
- decline – marked by crisis, fragmentation and growing inequality;
- discipline – reflecting a values-driven but slower path prioritizing equity; and
- transformation – or systems revolutionized by technology and innovation.
Of course, we cannot predict all the twists and turns that will determine the future; but we can, and must, act to avert unwanted consequences in the long run.
Our thanks go to the many of you who have provided insight and vision to shape the forthcoming EPW2 in difficult financial times, where being nimble and agile – like small countries are – will be the litmus test for WHO.
Here are 5 critical priorities that our new programme of work addresses:
- Health security. That is the number one concern. Threats to our health need to be dealt with just like other threats to global safety and peace. And in this, our communities must be co-designers of our strategies and responses.
- Ageing. In itself, longevity is a triumph and a testament to progress – but it demands adaptation of health and care systems. Indeed, healthy ageing begins at birth – requiring a lifecycle approach.
- NCDs and mental health. These are not only health challenges, but – given their ripple effect – they are also challenges to society. For better results, we must combine prevention and treatment.
- Climate change. Europe is warming twice as fast as the global average – urgent, committed, consistent actions are needed. The Pan-European Commission on Climate and Health, which we are launching in Iceland in June, will help deliver on this.
- Health system transformation. This transformation must harness AI and other digital health innovations to truly tap into the amazing possibilities that currently exist, and those that will arise. Indeed, at WHO/Europe we have already started incorporating AI into various functionalities, with truly interesting and time-efficient results.
But health system transformation ultimately underscores the importance of primary health care – the engine that makes health systems smarter, stronger and – not least – more human, given the grassroots connection with individuals, families and communities.
And in that, you have a century-long tradition in Slovenia, working hand in hand with public health – through keeping social participation and equity high on the political and policy agenda – cultivating a system that is responsive to the needs of all, including the most vulnerable.
In all of this, WHO is there to serve you, our Member States, as we always have.
But, dear friends, you will be aware that WHO faces an existential crisis – triggered by a financial crisis stemming from the United States’ decision to withdraw.
We at WHO/Europe are taking drastic measures to be able to deliver what Member States expect of us.
We are cutting staff and costs, reprioritizing core functions, restructuring programmes and pursuing new methods for mobilizing resources.
What will remain is a far leaner model, yet one with substantial value, truly fit for the future.
My goal is to position WHO/Europe as the most agile, responsive and innovative WHO regional office.
This means establishing an organization that is fast, flexible and outcome driven as we have outlined in EPW2.
Building on our work together with Member States on participatory governance, trust will be further enhanced through even more open, measurable and auditable governance at WHO/Europe.
I am also committed to positioning WHO/Europe as a driver of innovation and forward-thinking public health, including a Futures Lab and regular futures summits and reports, to co-create new public health models with Member States and partners.
But I want to paint a bigger picture; because all of this is not about WHO as an entity, this is much bigger.
What is at stake is our hard-won progress in containing the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance.
What is at stake is children’s vaccine development and cancer research.
What is at stake is the critical knowledge that underpins preparedness for future pandemics and our ability to monitor and respond to global health threats.
What is at stake is nothing less than the safety and well-being of people, everywhere; of health as a human right.
We are meeting today, a week before the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva – perhaps the most important WHA in living memory.
WHO/Europe is counting on you, SCI Member States, to support regional and global public health on diverse fronts. This includes formalizing the long-awaited Pandemic Agreement – a key pillar of global health security, as well as supporting an essential increase in Member States’ assessed contributions to WHO.
In times like these, WHO depends on the strength of its allies and the commitment of its partners. In times marked by fragmentation, multilateralism matters. An example of multilateralism done right, is the Small Countries Initiative: joint understanding and respect; information-sharing and other collaboration, leading to collective results.
Health is the greatest wealth or “Zdravje je največje bogastvo”, as they say in Slovenia. And I know for a fact that in each of our mother tongues, there is a proverb reflecting the same universal truth.
Your strategic partnership – indeed your friendship – is the kind WHO/Europe is committed to nurturing and will continue to champion as we forge ahead together.
Hvala vsem! Thank you.