State Secretary Michal Štofko in Paris attended the Ministerial Meeting of the OECD Health Committee on 23 January 2024. The main theme was: "Better policies aimed at building resilient health systems'. The ministerial meeting was preceded by a high-level political forum on the theme of the "The future of human-centred health innovation."
The plenary debate focused on the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and on the measures needed to strengthen health systems to be better able to withstand future shocks. In this respect, Slovakia aims to collect relevant data for informed decisions and to ensure that policies and interventions are evidence-based and are more likely to succeed.
State Secretary Michal Štofko said that in recent years we have seen significant progress in human health innovation. One of the main principles highlighted by the Slovak Republic is the active participation of individuals in managing their health. MZ SR adopted a comprehensive approach that includes testing, testing, monitoring and adaptation. These innovations have the potential to improve patient care, treatment effectiveness and medical knowledge. The Ministry has the ambition to improve the health system and bring it closer to Western European standards: Using innovative cooperation procedures, we strive to create a health care system that is sensitive, efficient and capable of meeting the diverse needs of the population, said Michal Štofko. During the working lunch, climate change and health were discussed.
During five parallel meetings, ministers discussed the following topics:
- the future of digital health after the COVID-19 pandemic,
- strengthening public health: a healthy population for more resilient health systems,
- strengthening mental health resilience,
- the future of pharmaceutical policy,
-investment in resilience: health and social care workers.
The meeting was chaired by Frank Vandenbroucke, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Social Affairs and Public Health of Belgium.
