The regional meeting was held on the subject of healthcare workers. It was organized in Bucharest by the World Health Organization (WHO), for the delegation of the Ministry of Health of Serbia, the day began at the Romanian airport with a warm welcome from the host Minister of Health. Minister Aleksandra Rafila welcomed Serbian Minister Danica Grujicic, and the Serbian Ambassador to Bucharest, Stefan Tomašević, joined the welcome.
Minister Grujicic with the delegation at the Regional Meeting in Bucharest
28 March 2023
The working part of the visit for the Serbian delegation began with a bilateral meeting with the Minister of Health of Moldova, Alo Nemerenko, which is also the first meeting between the two ministers. Getting to know the problems and opportunities of the health systems of Serbia and Moldova ended with the invitation of Minister Grujicic to her colleague to visit Serbia.
The ceremonial opening, which took place in the sign of the address of the highest representatives of the Romanian state and the WHO, continued with a panel where the Serbian minister also held a speech. She highlighted several important topics when it comes to the position and perspective of employees in healthcare.
In the first place, she mentioned motivating and enabling conditions for doctors to work in smaller towns. Minister Grujičić informed those present about the prerequisites for this, all with the aim of strengthening primary health care and its better and more efficient organization.
Palliative care and the intention to turn Covid-19 hospitals into palliative care centers was the second point of the minister's address, as an important goal of health care organization that Serbia lacks.
In the end, the minister referred to digitization, which she highlights at every opportunity as a prerequisite for more efficient functioning of all three health sectors through their digital connection.
The meeting in Bucharest was an opportunity for the minister to sign the Declaration on Health and Care Workers, which shed light on the numerous challenges these professions face today, as well as ways to strengthen and improve the position of health workers.
The delegation of the Ministry of Health left Bucharest the way it was welcomed: with a meeting with the Romanian Minister of Health. Dr. Aleksandra Rafila and Minister Grujičić exchanged experiences in ways of investing in healthcare, educational programs for training healthcare workers, migration of doctors and other topics common to both healthcare systems. The most important conclusion of the meeting is the agreement on signing the Cooperation Agreement between the Serbian and Romanian ministries, which will be the basis for further successful and closer cooperation between our two neighboring countries.
