Strengthening health Systems through the Tallinn Charter
Our President Anders Olauson attended the second conference on “Health Systems Strengthening” in Tallinn, Estonia on 17-18 October 2013. Marking the five year anniversary of the signature of the Tallinn Charter (Link, PDF), the conference organised by WHO Europe was entitled “Health Systems for Health and Wealth in the Context of Health 2020”.
Our President chaired and moderated the session on “Coordinated/integrated health services delivery: towards people-centred health systems”. He explained that for citizens with actual or potential health problems, the maintenance of optimal health depends not just on healthcare services, but on support for social care (nutrition, hygiene, mobility, etc.) and other aspects of daily living.
This event provided a platform to understand new frontiers to improve population health, exchange inspiring examples of health system strengthening, and agree on future directions weaving together the commitments in the Tallinn Charter and the Health 2020 policy framework.
The WHO European Ministerial Conference on Health Systems, held in Tallinn in 2008, was a milestone signalling the importance that Member States placed on improving the performance of their health systems. Their political commitment was marked by the signing of the Tallinn Charter: Health Systems for Health and Wealth, and its later endorsement in a Regional Committee resolution.
The outcomes of the meeting will feed into the final report of the Tallinn Charter implementation and a Resolution on the main health systems strategic directions 2015-2020 within the context of Health 2020 to be presented at the regional Committee in 2015.