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119 p. ; This report presents an analysis of policy, governance and implementation arrangements to achieve health and well-being for all at all ages and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Member States of the WHO European Region. The analysis was based on a survey in 2019 that was completed by 29 Member States. Results show that Member States have prioritized implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and integration of the SDGs into relevant planning frameworks. Integration has been facilitated through the creation or adaptation of institutional arrangements with leadership from high levels of government and participation of all sectors of society. More action is required to advance governance and leadership for health and well-being through a more holistic lens that encompasses a life-course approach, considers the determinants of health and invests in preparedness, prevention and resilience. Mechanisms were identified that facilitated intersectoral collaboration and improved accountability. The findings can be used by health stakeholders to identify solutions that can be adapted to the specific contexts of their institution, community or country to support achievement of the health and well-being goals and ultimately the SDGs. Findings can also be used by multilateral organizations and development partners to inform their role in fostering change and creating an enabling environment for the achievement of the SDGs.

21 p. ; It is well documented that health workers have a powerful influence on the vaccination behaviour and vaccine acceptance of their patients and the public at large. Yet leveraging the positive influence of health workers for COVID-19 vaccination is complex, as health workers may face barriers and challenges related to vaccinating their patients, and may have concerns about vaccination themselves.In response to these challenges, this document provides considerations for designing and implementing strategies to support and empower health workers. It is intended for use by governments, health authorities, and others involved in the COVID-19 pandemic response and vaccination rollout at national and subnational levels.

11 p. ; Evidence on the impact of school closures on children and the effectiveness of infection prevention and control measures being implemented in schools is now emerging. The WHO Regional Office for Europe and the Government of Italy jointly convened a high-level meeting on 31 August 2020 to discuss the situation and share experiences. Member States agreed to establish a network of experts to collate and review the emerging evidence on best practices and the potential negative effects of school reopening. A technical advisory group (TAG) was convened to review the evidence and make recommendations for a second high-level meeting, held in early December 2020. Member States reconvened at this meeting to review lessons learned and further emerging evidence, adjust interventions accordingly and recommend the way forward. This report is of the third TAG meeting, held in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 26 January 2021.

19 p. ; Many national public health institutes were established in the second half of the 20th century. Since they were established, the public health landscape has changed considerably, with new challenges, priorities, structures, technologies, skills, holistic approaches and funding and budget pressures. Multiple organizations related to public health have often been created in countries according to local needs, to implement different essential public health functions and operations and host specific disciplines.This guide aims to take advantage of the good practices, success factors and strategies of these institutes. The purpose is practical; it is intended to offer an initial source of information for merger initiatives and to raise awareness among decision-makers and key individuals of how complex this is. It also offers a step-by-step action plan for decision-makers and workshop facilitators to successfully prepare and implement the reorganization or merger of their national public health institute.This guide focuses its action points at the level of political decision-makers, health ministries and other key institutes and on their mission and vision: strategic and operational goals; professional development and leadership; project portfolios; validation processes; communication; and legal aspects.

46 p. ; Good nutrition in infancy and early childhood is the foundation of good health and development, during childhood and throughout adult life, but there are growing concerns that the marketing of some baby and toddler foods is undermining infant and young child nutrition. A study conducted in partnership with the Institute of Mother and Child in Poland collected 732 commercial food and drink products for infants and young children in two districts of the Polish capital Warsaw and assessed them against WHO criteria for foods that may be considered suitable to be marketed for infants and young children. The study found evidence of widespread inappropriate promotion, and several areas of particular concern were identified. • Early age of introduction: 43% of the products were marketed as being suitable for infants under the age of 6 months, which – although legal under European Union law – is in violation of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes and WHO guidance. • Inappropriate nutritional quality: more than half (58%) of the products provided more than 30% of energy (calories) from sugars, around a quarter (24%) had sugar or other sweetening agents added, and 40% provided too few calories per 100 g to meet infants' needs. • Inappropriate use of composition, nutrition or health claims: most products (92%) carried a statement about composition or nutritional aspects on the label and more than a third (39%) carried statements relating to health or development, although Codex guidelines and WHO guidance prohibit nutrition or health claims.

37 p. ; This rapid response summarizes global research evidence drawn from many sources inthe research literature, mainly systematic reviews. It does not contain recommendations,which would have required the authors to make judgements based on personal valuesand preferences.This rapid response seeks to respond to the scientific information needs of politiciansand policy-makers to tackle this pandemic. A distinctive feature of this process is theuse of systematic and explicit methods to identify, select, appraise and synthesize dataand information from the included studies. This rapid response was conducted over 15business days and presents evidence for policy-makers in a concise and comprehensiblemanner.

p.18 ; Smart Vaccination Certificates (SVCs), a personal, digitally signed attestation of vaccine administration, have recently emerged as a public health tool of interest in many Member States of the WHO European Region looking to gradually ease public health and social measures and restart economic activity as they begin to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. The use of SVCs requires the consideration of a complex mix of technical, legal, governance and equity factors. Governments must therefore be prepared to adjust their use of SVCs in accordance with changing criteria and recommendations as they become available. European Member States met on 14 June 2021 to discuss the situation and share perspectives on the main concerns regarding interoperability and cooperation within the Region.

39 p. ; The report shows that SSB taxation has enormous potential in Ukraine, particularly in its ability to increase tax revenue while simultaneously increasing prices and reducing the consumption of SSBs. The most promising scenario corresponds to the implementation of a simple, easy to administer uniform specific tax equal to approximately 20% of the price of an SSB. This could raise an additional 1.0% of government tax revenueand would result in a reduction in taxed SSB consumption of up to 21%. The report offers several options for policy-makers to consider, each supported by modelled impacts on consumption and government revenue increases.

42 p. ; This report provides a summary of the main activities carried out by the WHO Barcelona Office for Health Systems Financing in 2020. The Barcelona Office is a centre of excellence in health financing for universal health coverage (UHC). It is responsible for monitoring progress towards UHC and focuses on the extent to which people are protected from experiencing financial hardship when using health services. It works with Member States across the WHO European Region to promote evidence-informed policy-making. It supports countries to develop policy, monitor progress and design reforms through a combination of health system problem diagnosis, analysis of country-specific policy options, high-level policy dialogue and the sharing of international experience. It is also the home for WHO training courses on health financing and health systems strengthening for better health outcomes. Established in 1999, the Barcelona Office is supported by the Government of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia, Spain. It is part of the Division of Country Health Policies and Systems of the WHO Regional Office for Europe.

xi, 49 p. ; Mental health is a priority of WHO's European Programme of Work, 2020–2025 (EPW). The EPW's Mental Health Coalition flagship initiative focuses on transforming attitudes around mental health, expediting mental health reforms and accelerating progress towards universal health coverage for people with mental health conditions. The COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted the critical importance of mental health and elevated it to the global discussion forum. In light of this, it was considered timely to hold an international meeting that will generate clear proposals and garner high-level political commitment to place mental health policy implementation at the heart of the economic and social recovery process, taking stock of the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and building on the shared experience of years of mental health reform. This report provides summaries of the presentations and discussions at the meeting, and includes the Athens Mental Health Summit Declaration.

16 p. ; Evidence on the impact of school closures on children and the effectiveness of infection prevention and control measures being implemented in schools is now emerging. The WHO Regional Office for Europe and the Government of Italy jointly convened a high-level meeting on 31 August 2020 to discuss the situation and share experiences. Member States agreed to establish a network of experts to collate and review the emerging evidence on best practices and the potential negative effects of school reopening. A technical advisory group (TAG) was convened to review the evidence and make recommendations for a second high-level meeting, to be held in late November 2020. Member States will reconvene at this meeting to review lessons learned and further emerging evidence, adjust interventions accordingly and recommend the way forward. This report is of the second TAG meeting, held in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 12 November 2020.

3 p. ; Migration health data comprise information that characterizes the health and the social determinants of health of refugees and migrants. The need to enhance health information systems (HIS) and enable rigorous methodologies and capacities for collection of data on migration health across migrant groups at the national level remains challenging for most Member States of the WHO European Region. An initial barrier is that many Member States lack routine systems to collect these data and, when data are collected, the emphasis is often on infectious diseases. In addition, some national HIS are fragmented and collect data on different, often noncomparable, variables and indicators, which limits data sharing and access across governmental entities at national and global levels.

16 p. ; Evidence on the impact of school closures on children and the effectiveness of infection prevention and control measures being implemented in schools is now emerging. The WHO Regional Office for Europe and the Government of Italy jointly convened a high-level meeting on 31 August 2020 to discuss the situation and share experiences. Member States agreed to establish a network of experts to collate and review the emerging evidence on best practices and the potential negative effects of school reopening. A technical advisory group (TAG) was convened to review the evidence and make recommendations for a second high-level meeting, to be held in late November 2020. Member States will reconvene at this meeting to review lessons learned and further emerging evidence, adjust interventions accordingly and recommend the way forward. This report is of the first TAG meeting, held in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 26 October 2020.

37 p. ; This report synthesizes the findings of the retreat, Strengthening Public Health Services in North Macedonia, held in Ohrid on 1–3 October 2019.Participatory methods were used to facilitate discussions between the Ministry of Health, the Institute of Public Health, and the 10 Centres of Public Health.Representatives from WHO and invited experts worked to apply their insights to enrich both the retreat discussions and the present report, which represents the product of this co-creation process. It identifies key areas of work and specific agendas for improving the provision of public health services and fulfilling legislative commitments set out in the 2010 Law on Public Health.

5 p. ; This paper is one of a set of technical guidance papers developed by the WHO Regional Office for Europe to provide practical information and resources for decision-makers on measures to strengthen the health system response to COVID-19. The purpose of this paper is to support pharmacists and other staff working in community pharmacies with guidance on the issues raised by the COVID-19 outbreak. During the COVID-19 health crisis, pharmacists are likely to have an enhanced role in supporting health care systems that may be overburdened managing seriously ill patients. Those unwell may first visit a pharmacy to seek professional advice on the management of their symptoms. This paper does not replace advice provided by national governments or professional pharmacy associations in each country. However, in the absence of specific guidance, pharmacists should consider the following advice.