The second of the four Action Plans which the Foundation has undertaken to develop will be presented on 12 April
In the context of its participation in the “Initiative 1821-2021” and looking to the future of Greece, Bodossaki Foundation undertook the preparation of four comprehensive Action Plans, for the University of 2030, the upgrading of Public Health, tackling key Environmental Challenges and the empowerment of Civil Society in our country, areas that fall under its pillars of action. The Action Plans are developed under the auspices of H.E. The President of the Hellenic Katerina Sakellaropoulou and will be made available to the competent State authorities and other departments, for utilisation.
Wishing to contribute to the debate on the future of Public Health in Greece, the Foundation invited distinguished Greek public health experts to contribute the best available scientific documentation and international experience in this effort. For the development of the Action Plan for the Public Health, a Central Coordination Team was established, which in collaboration with a 50-member Scientific Team and after 18 months of pro bono work and dialogue with the academic and professional communities and the other actors involved, taking also account of international developments, formulated an Action Plan for the upgrading of the Greek Public Health system.
The Action Plan will be presented as a discussion document on 12 April 2022 at the Athens Concert Hall.
The Central Coordination Team consists of eight members and is chaired by:
- Mr Agis Tsouros, former Director of Policy and Governance for Health and Wellbeing at the WHO Regional Office for Europe,
assisted by two Vice Chairs:
- Mr John Kyriopoulos, President of the Institute of Health Economics, and
- George Chrousos, Professor Emeritus of Paediatrics & Endocrinology at the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.
The Action Plan for Public Health in the 21st century presents the building blocks of a modern Public Health System, together with the conditions for its implementation, placing great emphasis on the citizens’ right to health, equality and sustainability. Rather than the system for the provision of healthcare services, the Plan concerns the cross-sectoral policies, services and activities related to preventing diseases and promoting health, protecting and monitoring the health of the population, and managing health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Action Plan puts forward prioritised proposals that could serve as the basis for a strategic roadmap for 2030, whose key preconditions are extensive dialogue, broad consensus, political will and the engagement of the actors involved from early on in the process.
The methodology followed for the Plan’s development drew on the most up-to-date concepts of Public Health at the international level and on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, covering all key Public Health functions in accordance with the WHO reference standards. Moreover, a survey was also carried out for the first time in Greece on the attitudes and perceptions of Public Health workers regarding the system’s operation and reorganisation.
Following the presentation of the Action Plan, the Scientific Team will accept comments and questions, which should be sent by email to publichealth@bodossaki.gr until 12 May 2022, in order to be taken into account in the finalisation of the Action Plan and of the relevant texts.
In the presentation event of 12 April, the Action Plan will be presented by Mr. Agis Tsouros and will be discussed in more detail in the following interdisciplinary panels, moderated by journalist Christina Vidou:
Man – Vulnerability – Citizen
- Nikos Dedes, President, Greek Patients Association
- John Kyriopoulos, Professor Emeritus of Health Economics, National School of Public Health and Department of Public Health Policies, University of West Attica
- Meni Malliori, Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
- Antigoni Lyberaki, Professor of Economics, Panteion University, Scientific coordinator for Greece of the Europe-wide SHARE survey (Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe)
- George Chrousos, Professor Emeritus of Paediatrics & Endocrinology, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Environment – Institutions
- Eirini Agapidaki, Secretary General for Public Health, Ministry of Health
- Maria Theodoridou, Professor Emerita of Paediatrics, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, President of the National Vaccination Committee
- Phoebe Koundouri, Professor & Director of the Research Laboratory on Socio-Economic and Environmental Sustainability (ReSEES), Athens University of Economics and Business
- Dimitris Boubas, Professor of Pathology-Rheumatology, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, President of the Athens Medical Society, President of the Central Health Council (KESY)
- Agis Tsouros, former Director of Policy and Governance for Health and Wellbeing at the WHO Regional Office for Europe
From the four Action Plans that Bodossaki Foundation has undertaken to prepare and present, one more Plan –in addition to the Action Plan for Public Health in the 21st century–, namely the Action Plan for the University of 2030, was presented at a special event held in November 2021. The remaining two Action Plans to follow will focus on addressing key Environmental Challenges and strengthening the Civil Society.
