The Institute of Occupational Medicine of the Republic of North Macedonia (IOMRNM) Centre continues to be recognized as a WHO Collaborating Centre (CC) until July 2027, following 20 years of ongoing partnership. Based in Skopje, the IOMRNM is the sole WHO CC in North Macedonia and part of an international collaborative network that supports WHO’s work at national, regional, and international level. The centre’s main goal is to improve workers’ health and well-being through strengthening occupational health systems, policies and services, and building human/institutional capacities in occupational health.
In 2006, the WHO CC for Occupational Health became recognized by WHO as the coordinator of the South-Eastern European Network on Workers’ Health (SEENWH), a network of occupational health experts from 9 south-eastern European countries. The centre is committed to maintaining its leading position as a top-level health, educational and research institution focused on occupational health within the country and subregion.
“WHO’s ongoing relationship with the IOMRNM has been a profound source of strength and support, as the CC has used its mission to create a better quality of life and work for Europe’s health-care workers. This effort has a ripple effect that extends far beyond its immediate activity to bring better care, research and response to the people of the Region,” explained Dorota Jarosińska, programme manager at WHO’s European Centre for Environment and Health.
Protecting occupational health in countries
During its tenure as a WHO CC, the IOMRNM has successfully realized numerous activities at national and regional level that contribute to WHO’s work in strengthening countries’ capacities to protect occupational health and safety. The topics covered include the occupational health system and policy, universal health coverage, vulnerable groups of workers, mental health at work, climate change and workers’ health, with a particular focus on the health, safety and well-being of health workers.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the centre coordinated the project “Actions to strengthen resilience of health workers in south-eastern Europe in response to COVID-19 and beyond: implementation of WHO/International Labour Organization guidance and mapping of priority needs for occupational health and safety programmes for health workers”, which was supported by the WHO European Centre for Environment and Health. More than 1600 health workers from SEENWH member countries participated in training sessions, which also served to collect views on the future needs for developing national occupational health and safety programmes for health-care workers.
In addition, the IOMRNM produced an online survey on job stress in health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, and presented country-specific findings related to burnout and job engagement, as well as demands and resourcing in the health workforce during the pandemic. It also proposed country-specific suggestions to promote mental health in health-care settings.
“For 20 years now, the IOMRNM has had the honour and privilege of serving as an active and productive member of the strong WHO Collaborating Centre family. We have seen the impact of our work, not only on our own communities and country, but on the Region at large. This relationship flows both ways, with our work supporting WHO’s broader mission in occupational health, and its commitment to CCs helps us to effect positive change,” said Professor Dr Jovanka Karadzinska Bislimovska, Head of the Centre.