WHO Regional Director sets focus on equity, drug security and health systems during Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum

The need to ensure drug security and equitable access to vaccines while strengthening national health systems has been highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic. During a week-long visit to the Russian Federation for the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), the WHO Regional Director for Europe, Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, stressed the importance of health equity and international collaboration.

SPIEF is an annual international economic forum for decision-makers, senior executives from major corporations and financial institutions, renowned experts, and pioneering entrepreneurs. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s discussions on economic issues, emerging markets and the world as a whole, were conducted with a health perspective, bringing together key sectors with substantial roles in building back better.

During the inaugural Drug Security Forum on 2 June – a platform to examine what is needed to ensure adequate and sustainable provision of medicines to the population ¬– Dr Kluge stressed the need to mitigate the pandemic’s long-term impact on health systems, economies and inequality, and ensure equitable access to essential services, medicines and technologies.

Stress testing of national health systems

Dr Kluge also delivered key note speeches at two other sessions related to the future of sustainable, resilient health systems, including “Stress-testing of national health care systems”, during which he repeated his call to countries to allocate an additional 1% of gross domestic product to primary health care.

“Countries across the WHO European Region have been quick to mobilize funds for the health system in the past year and a half. That level of spending needs to be sustained,” said Dr Kluge.

Health-care systems are only as strong as the people who maintain them. As the European Region cautiously sets its focus on building back better, one of the fundamental pillars of the European Programme of Work 2020–2025 (EPW) – “United Action for Better Health in Europe” is ensuring access to equitable health care, as well as ensuring education, continuing professional development, well-being and occupational safety of health-care workers.

“Our health workers around the globe have been phenomenal in their investment in our health through this pandemic. Now is the time to invest in theirs,” said Dr Kluge.

Commending efforts of the Russian Federation

During his visit, Dr Kluge also handed the Russian Ministry of Health the WHO World No Tobacco Day award for outstanding contributions to the fight against tobacco use. As Dr Kluge presented the award to the Russian Minister of Health, Dr Mikhail Murashko, he commended the Russian Government’s strengthened national tobacco-control legislation, which has helped reduce the number of smokers by 21% and reduce tobacco sales by almost 30% in just 7 years, from 2009 to 2016.

Dr Kluge and Dr Murashko also got together for a pre-Forum meeting to discuss and reflect on the Russian Federation’s response to COVID-19, international collaboration, strengthening of health systems, tobacco and alcohol control, tuberculosis, HIV, and noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). One of the many outcomes of the meeting was the announcement of the renewed High-level Working Group on HIV, set to be co-chaired by Dr Murashko and Dr Kluge, including thematic working groups on prevention and treatment.

Dr Kluge also acknowledged the Russian Federation’s expansion of digitalization for health as well as their efforts in addressing COVID-19, in particular their policy of “leaving no one behind” by establishing a large number of easily accessible vaccination posts in urban areas and mobile vaccination teams for rural areas.

Strengthening collaboration with regional organizations

The visit to the Russian Federation also offered Dr Kluge the opportunity to meet with important subregional organizations.

During recent years, WHO/Europe has strengthened collaboration with the Interparliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States (IPA CIS). The meeting between Dr Kluge and representatives of the IPA CIS served to prepare a joint conference on universal health care and sustainable development, set to take place in November 2021.

During a meeting with the Eurasian Economic Commission, an agreement was reached on signing a memorandum of understanding, fostering collaboration in several areas – such as regulation of medicines and medical products, food safety, antimicrobial resistance, migrants’ health, and health information systems and digital health.

WHO has a combined presence in the Russian Federation:

• the WHO Country Office, which works closely with authorities and other partners on promoting the EPW, facilitating experience exchange, piloting innovative policies and methodologies, and facilitating input of the Russian Federation into WHO global and regional programmes;
• the WHO European Office for the Prevention and Control of NCDs, a Russia funded specialized branch of WHO that works to prevent and control NCDs, promote an intersectoral approach and develop policies to tackle NCDs.