This week marks the 50th anniversary of the WHO's Expanded Programme on Immunization, now known as the Essential Programme on Immunization, or EPI. This initiative has been a driving force behind the quest for fair access to life-saving vaccines for every child, irrespective of their geographical or socioeconomic circumstances. Over the past half-c…

There is an alarming resurgence of measles. In the WHO European Region, a startling uptick has been observed, with now over 50,000 cases reported across 41 Member States during 2023. This is a staggering increase from the 941 cases recorded throughout 2022, marking a more than fiftyfold escalation. Measles is a highly contagious virus. It can sprea…

In the latest 'Health in Europe' podcast, we explore Jack Kavanagh's transformation from a sports enthusiast to a disability rights advocate following a spinal cord injury. WHO talks with Jack for a deep dive into creating inclusive health systems. This episode goes beyond Jack's personal journey, addressing the societal need for health systems tha…

We explore the transformative synergy of art and health, and how art can positively help tackle noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) – from cardiovascular diseases to cancer. Join us as we discuss the healing potential of art interventions with experts from WHO/Europe's Special Initiative on NCDs and Innovation and Behavioural and Cultural insights unit…

Have you ever wondered what it's truly like to be in prison? As we reflect on the unprecedented challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, this podcast takes you on a thought-provoking journey to life behind bars, encouraging you to empathize and understand the realities faced by incarcerated individuals. Because the truth is, prisons are n…

The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals act as a vital catalyst, urging countries worldwide to strive for Universal Health Coverage. This encompasses the twin objectives of providing financial risk protection and ensuring equitable access to high quality essential health care services. But how exactly do we define quality of care? To shed more light…

One in three school-aged children in the WHO European Region are living with overweight or obesity, and countries are working hard to break and reverse this trend. In this episode, Julianne Williams, WHO technical officer for Noncommunicable Diseases at the WHO European Office for the Prevention and Control of NCDs, and Mirjam Heinen, WHO consultan…

This episode of Health in Europe focuses on a very important question – can vaccines prevent cancer? We know that cancer is a complicated and elusive disease. According to WHO, cancer is the leading cause of death globally, accounting for an estimated 10 million deaths in 2020. So, the potential to prevent some types of cancer through vaccination i…

Behavioral and cultural insights utilize social sciences to tackle ongoing health issues - from vaccine uptake to antimicrobial resistance to obesity and other noncommunicable diseases. In this conversation Bhanu Bhatnagar, Press and Media Relations Officer at WHO Regional Office for Europe, spoke with Dr Saad Omer, Director of the Yale Institute f…

In this episode we hear from Dr Moez Zeiton – a trauma surgeon who’s worked with WHO in Iraq and now is a trainer with the David Nott Foundation, teaching surgeons how to treat trauma patients in some of the most difficult circumstances imaginable.By World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe

Alcohol harms everyone and there is no safe limit to alcohol consumption when it comes to health. A new episode of the ‘Health in Europe’ podcast gives the mic over to young people who discuss the harms and policies that are needed with input from Dr Carina Ferreira-Borges, Programme Manager for Alcohol and Illicit Drugs, WHO European Office for th…

More than 30,000 women die from cervical cancer in the WHO European Region every year. But cervical cancer is a preventable disease and elimination of cervical cancer is within our reach. In this episode, we speak with Allison Ekberg, Advisor on Health Policy and hear interventions from Dr Nino Berdzuli, Director of the Country Health Programme at …

Quality of care is an important part of any health system. In this episode, we speak with Dimitra Panteli, of the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, and Dr Joao Breda, head of a new WHO office in Athens focusing on quality of care, to find out more about WHO’s work in this area. Show notes: How can health technology assessment con…

In this episode, WHO/Europe’s Press and Media Relations Officer, Bhanu Bhatnagar, speaks with Professor Johan von Schreeb about his experience dealing with mass casualty incidents during times of war as well as his work with WHO to train health workers and specialists who may face such devastating and overwhelming situations. Show notes: The import…

Not a single country in the WHO European Region is on track to stop the rise in obesity by 2025 – that’s according to the 2022 European Obesity Report. What’s more, the report highlights serious risks to people’s health – including a stark warning obesity might overtake smoking as the main risk for preventable cancer. In this episode we dig more in…

As we mark European Immunization Week – WHO confirms that a polio outbreak in Tajikistan has ended following a comprehensive response. We speak with Dr Shahin Huseynov to find out how this was achieved. While Dr Siddhartha Datta speaks about the importance of vaccine equity as we continue to face COVID-19. SHOW NOTES: Comprehensive outbreak respons…

Labs form an often unseen yet crucial part of any health system. In this episode we find out more about the role of laboratories in health, their day-to-day work as well as what WHO and partners are doing to train up the next generation of laboratory leaders – including a recent training in Kazakhstan. Show notes: Preparing the next generation of l…

You may remember a couple of weeks ago we spoke about the Economics of Ageing webinar series. In this episode, we speak with Dr Jon Cylus of the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies about the webinars and what comes next. Show notes: Where do we find the money to fund healthcare for an ageing population? [https://eurohealthobservator…

In this episode we speak about a new report from WHO/Europe on inequities in treatment for childhood cancer in the Region and hear from Aron Anderson, WHO/Europe’s Ambassador on Cancer who himself beat cancer at a young age. Show notes New WHO report highlights scale of childhood cancer inequalities in the European Region: https://www.who.int/europ…

Screening for diseases like cancer may seem a simple solution to catch the disease before it becomes serious. But in this episode we find out how complicated screening for cancer is. Show Notes When is screening for cancer the right course of action? LINK: https://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/noncommunicable-diseases/cancer/news/news/2022/2/wh…

Earlier this week marked two years since the first cases of COVID-19 were detected in the WHO European Region. In this episode we speak with a frontline healthcare worker, the importance of vaccination and find out what it was like to coordinate the emergency response in the Region. Show notes: Laura Lupi, COVID-19 nurse: together, we can beat this…

Population ageing is often seen as bad for the economy and unsustainable for health systems. But is this really the case? Debora Miranda, Communications Officer at the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies speaks about a new webinar series focusing on the economics of ageing. And in part two - WHO’s European Office for the Prevention …

In this episode we speak with Dr Catherine Smallwood, WHO/Europe’s COVID-19 incident manager, to get the latest on the Omicron variant which continues to cause record cases across the Region. And WHO’s European Office for the Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases explore how we can stay healthy in the metaverse. Watch the full COVID-19 briefing o…

The first episode in a mini-series of podcasts created for the Digital Solutions for Noncommunicable Diseases Conference in Moscow discusses how digital solutions can help us stay healthy and improve our health.By World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe

In this episode we hear from health workers and NGOs about what steps can be taken to provide healthcare to people in prison, leaving no-one behind in healthBy World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe

In this episode, we speak with three young health care workers from across the Region about the challenges they’ve faced during COVID-19 and their hopes for their future, providing care to communities in need.By World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe

In this episode, we speak with representatives of health authorities in Slovenia and with "Nobody Left Outside" - a collective of organizations representing some of the most marginalized groups - about the importance of health equity, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic.By World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe

In this episode we speak with Dr Tracey Cooper, Chief Executive of Public Health Wales and Christine Brown of WHO European Office for Investment for Health and Development about the need to place health equity at the centre of the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemicBy World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe

In this third and final episode, we’re building flutopia – exploring different ways that health authorities work to increase flu vaccination rates among populations.By World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe

In part one of flutopia, we explored why the annual flu vaccine is so important. In the second episode of this three-part series we speak with Dr Richard Pebody about how flu vaccines are made.By World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe

Each year people are encouraged to get a flu vaccine to protect them from seasonal influenza. But why do we need a flu vaccine? Find out in the first episode of our three-part series ‘Flutopia’By World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe

In this episode, we speak with Dr Alex Schneider of Life4me+, a charity that worked with WHO to ensure access to healthcare and treatment among migrant workers living with HIV who suddenly found themselves unable to travel due to restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. This episode explores the multiple barriers migrants face when accessing heal…

The education of children and young people around the world has been deeply affected by COVID-19. The closing of schools in response to the pandemic highlighted a number of existing inequalities as well as putting a mental strain on many. In this episode we speak with Emilia, Frida and Malika – youth advisers to the technical advisory group on scho…

Earlier this year, wild polio was declared eradicated from Africa. This fantastic achievement brought humanity one step closer to globally eradicating a disease that once took millions of lives every year, and still today affects many survivors in their daily lives. The victories against polio are hard-earned and it’s an ongoing battle to keep the …

Earlier this week, Member States endorsed the European Programme of Work at WHO/Europe’s 70th Regional Committee. Linking to the three key priorities of the Global Programme of Work – protecting more people from health emergencies, promoting health and well-being and ensuring more people have access to universal health coverage. We spoke with WHO/E…

Digital health offers solutions that offer the potential to strengthen health systems, but it also raises a number of important questions. In this episode, we speak with Clayton Hamilton about the importance of technology to the future of healthcare in our Region and why it is one of four flagships areas for WHO/Europe in the coming years.…

Immunization has played a crucial role in reducing mortality and the unnecessary suffering of people as a result of vaccine-preventable diseases across the European Region. Yet it retains great potential to help us build even healthier, more prosperous societies. The third of four episodes highlighting flagships for WHO/Europe, this week we talk to…

Mental health is an important part of personal health. It’s estimated that millions of people in the WHO European Region are living with mental health conditions. Tragically, 140,000 people lose their lives to suicide each year in our Region – a stark reminder that we have much work to do on mental health. In this episode, the second of four on fla…

Behavioural and Cultural Insights draw on a range of fields to understand the different drivers and barriers to health. In this, the first of four episodes on flagship areas for WHO/Europe ahead of the 70th Regional Committee, we speak with Katrine Habersaat, Nils Fietje and Anastasia Koylyu about Behavioural and Cultural Insights and how they can …

We speak with Patrick Hoffmann, a former nurse at a prison in Luxembourg who worked with colleagues to improve testing and treatment for a range of diseases, including hepatitis among the prison population. This included a tattoo studio where inmates could learn safe tattooing techniques under the supervision of health care workers. This is just on…

500,000 people are killed in the WHO/European Region as a result of violence and injury each year. That means approximately one person every minute loses their life to violence and injury. In this episode, we speak with Jonathon Passmore, Programme Manager of Violence and Injury Prevention at WHO’s Regional Office for Europe in Copenhagen, about a …

Would you buy or consume a product without knowing what's in it? What about one that's known to cause a range of diseases including cancer? Would you expect these products to carry a warning or at least a list of ingredients? Welcome to the Health In Europe podcast from the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe. Our Region is broad a…