site.btaBulgaria Takes Part in OECD Health Ministerial Meeting in Paris

A Declaration on Building Better Policies for More Resilient Health Systems was adopted by the participants in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Health Committee at ministerial level in Paris, including Bulgaria, the Bulgarian Health Ministry said on Wednesday. This was Bulgaria's first ministerial meeting as part of its OECD accession process.

"Human resources in the healthcare sector in Bulgaria face the same challenges as those in other European countries: an ageing population and thus an ageing healthcare workforce; some health professions being unattractive to younger generations; uneven territorial distribution resulting from internal migration from smaller to larger settlements and health worker migration within and outside the EU", Bulgarian Health Minister Hristo Hinkov said at the meeting.

He noted that cooperation between the health, finance, education, labour and social policy sectors, as well as the involvement of other stakeholders (including organizations, trade unions, employers, etc.), is crucial to achieving sustainable results.

Later in the day, Hinkov took part in a working lunch on climate change and its impact on health, chaired by Germany’s Health Minister Karl Lauterbach and OECD Secretary General Mathias Cormann. Hinkov paid special attention to the impact of climate change on mental health.

The Bulgarian Minister also participated in a session on strengthening mental health resilience.