Event highlights
The important contribution that small countries make to advancing health across the WHO European Region was highlighted by Valentina Prevolnik Rupel, Minister of Health of Slovenia at the 11th High-level Meeting of the Small Countries Initiative (SCI), held in Bled, Slovenia on 12–13 May 2025. Characterizing the countries of the Initiative, she described them as, “small but mighty in the pursuit of healthier nations”.
“An example of multilateralism done right, is the Small Countries Initiative: joint understanding and respect; information-sharing and other collaboration, leading to collective results,” noted Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe at the opening of this meeting of 12 small countries.
At the top of the agenda was the development of the second European Programme of Work 2026–2030 (EPW2), a health compass to inspire countries and partners tackling pressing health issues, and a 5-year plan of action for WHO/Europe to advance progress on health.
Refocusing health systems
Participants recognized the overarching value of EPW2, describing it as, “agile, inclusive, forward looking and a bold opportunity to refocus health systems”. In the current challenging resource environment, they noted that EPW2 offers a chance to realign, come together and focus on what is most important to advance health.
Discussing the content of the current EPW2 draft, the health workforce, emergency preparedness and response, antimicrobial resistance, ageing, mental health, climate change and primary health care were topics highlighted and welcomed by ministers and delegates.
Specific requests were made to review possible overlap with the European Union’s work on genomics, and to produce a shared assessment of new health technologies, given the wealth of opportunities available.
Countries highlighted their unique needs because of their size, dependencies and limited resources, and agreed to strengthen working together within EPW2 on health security, human resources for health, access to medicines, health system performance and people empowerment. It was also suggested that an SCI digital platform should be set up. Further consultations with countries on an updated version of the draft document will take place in the coming months.
The final EPW2 draft document will be put forward for adoption by Member States at the 75th session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe on 28–30 October 2025.