To know more about the National Public Health Institute of Macedonia, click here
The National Public Health Institute of Macedonia aims to promote healthy people in a healthy environment. The institute is the leading national public health scientific institution in the country and teaches basis of the Medical Faculty for the subjects of public health: social medicine (including health promotion), environmental health, epidemiology and occupational medicine.
Its mission is the improvement of the population’s health through control and prevention of diseases, injuries and violence, at all. levels and in all environments, with key activities like health statistics, healthy lifestyle and diseases prevention, health promotion, Health Campaigns and cancer screening programs, Public Health Policy Development, Research in Public Health, Teaching and training, Environmental Health risk assessment, Communicable and non communicable diseases surveillance, Health Impact Assessment
By Prof. Dragan Gjorgjev – Professor at the Medical Faculty at the University Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Skopje
How do you work on national/regional levels?
The Institute is on the head of a network of 10 sub regional (city level) public health centers coordinating the work on a Public Health program financed by the Macedonian Government. At regional level, the institute is actively involved in the working program of the Health Network of South East Europe countries – SEEHN (in close cooperation with WHO). The Institute is acting as a Regional Health Development Center of the network for development and enhancing the public health services in the region. After finishing the work on evaluation of the public health services and establishing of common public health indicators for the region, currently the Institute is preparing projects in the area of Health in all policies across the sectors, Health inequities and delivery of individual and population-based health promotion services in the SEE region
Why did you decide to become a Member of EurohealthNet?
By expanding our international work and cooperation we have a strong wish and commitment to become a member of a massive family of nonprofit public health organizations which will enable us to join the common work of health promotion and disease prevention within the EU and other countries in Europe, to exchange information and experiences and to apply jointly in research and other public health projects.
We also expect to have more opportunities to discuss and influence more directly EurohealthNet policy, to participate in various project and activities, to find project partners and participate in events coordinated by the secretariat including capacity building events (trainings and workshops) and study visits. We also expect to receive regular updates on sector developments through the electronic monthly Health Action Memo briefing (and Health Highlights) which includes the latest news of EU funding programs
What is your vision (ideal scenario) for public health and health promotion in the EU? How can EurohealthNet contribute to achieving this?
Health challenges are complex and require active involvement of all levels of government (international, national, and local). Public Health must be much higher on the political and social agenda of the countries.
Health systems face rising costs. Primary health care systems are weak and lack preventive services.
Our vision is to improve health for all and reducing health inequalities. Good health is vital for economic and social development especially in the period of economic crisis. Health must be the responsibility of the whole of society and the whole of government participating or coordinating the work on many important health promotion projects and enhancing the forum for broader sharing experience in this area, EurohealthNet together with their partners and allies can significantly assist the policy-makers across the region to be more effective and efficient in addressing today’s social, demographic, epidemiological and financial challenges, by resetting priorities, catalyzing action in other sectors, and adopting new approaches to organizing the health sector with other stakeholders. Furthermore, through the newly established European centre for Applied Knowledge and Innovation for Health and Wellbeing, EurohealthNet will contribute a lot in enhancing the knowledge and the role of currently weak public health services in most of the countries especially in the need for efficient tackle Europe’s major disease burdens of noncommunicable and communicable diseases.
Dragan Gjorgjev
Dragan is professor at the Medical Faculty at the University Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Skopje. Currently he is working as Public Health Policy Adviser to the Director of the IPH. He is also a Head of the Regional Health Development Center for public health services in the Health Network of the South East Europe countries. Dr. Gjorgjev is public health expert and he is participating in numerous activities concerning health sector reforms in Macedonia. Other than IPH where he is working for the whole period of his professional life ( from early 1981), Dr. Gjorgev served as a Director of the Project Preparation and Implementation Unit for the Health Sector Development and Management Project at the Ministry of Health of Macedonia, project financed by the World Bank loan. He has taken active role in the creation of some project and strategic documents in the field of general health and drug policy, creation of the National Strategy Document for Health sector Development. Dr. Gjorgjev is WHO Contact point for the creation of the Health in Transition Document for the Republic of Macedonia as well as for the Macedonian Environmental Health Strategy and WHO Contact for the National Children and Health Environmental Action Plan. In his academic career, Dr. Gjorgjev is current Head of the Chair of Environmental Health and responsible person for the postgraduate Public Health Program on the Medical Faculty Skopje. He has participated in numerous public health congresses and seminars all over the world and has published more than 100 scientific papers.