Mister Chairman,

Thank you for inviting the World Health Organization to this meeting.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to reflect on the current situation in the health sector.

With the massive return of Kosovars in the region, all actors in health, notably the UN agencies, Red Cross and NGOs have provided focused efforts to meet the most urgent health needs while planning and forecasting the needs for rehabilitation, reconstruction and development of the region. As expert help and technical support is brought in from around Europe, and dialogue and training is set up with the national professionals who have to face the long-term challenge ahead, foundations can be slowly built in partnership for a new era in public health reform- thereby the crisis becomes an opportunity.

In the short term the following priorities of health action have been identified in Kosovo:

• To prevent the mortality and morbidity resulting from the emergence of epidemics

• To maintain rapid public health assessment and monitoring systems to adjust in function of emerging priorities

• To mitigate the impact of violence, social disruption and inadequate care on physical and mental health

• To provide essential preventive and curative health services to all with particular emphasis on children, the elderly and the handicapped

• To secure safe, effective hospital services for urgent medical, surgical and psychiatric problems

• To attend to reproductive health needs

In the medium/long term the priorities are:

• To rehabilitate the health services in their structures and functions

• To proceed with the reconstruction of the health infrastructure

• To harmonise the Kosovo health system with health systems in the region, and further develop it on the basis of practices

• To cover essential public health functions and infrastructure

WHO is closely working with UNMIK to ensure the coordination and appropriate development of health services, both in the immediate emergency situation and in the longer term. WHO has established a strong presence in the field in Kosovo while maintaining international staff in Belgrade and also in neighbouring countries: Albania, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

At the present time, WHO has 10 international staff in Kosovo dealing with the coordination of humanitarian assistance in the health sector, health information and epidemiological surveillance, primary health care management, health policy planning, pharmaceuticals, mental health, mines injuries and reproductive health.

WHO experts are in the process of finalising a strategy for the future development of health services in Kosovo in close collaboration with all partners in health including donors representatives.

I take this opportunity to thank the donors for supporting our programmes and to assure that WHO will continue to work with all the UN humanitarian organizations and NGOs in this context and will offer our public health expertise and resources to all parties in order to achieve the realization of an effective, equitable, accessible and affordable health care system and improve the health status of all inhabitants of Kosovo.