official report - The role of National Health Operations Centers

HEALTH EMERGENCΥ MANAGEMENT
IN THE EU THE ROLE OF NATIONAL HEALTH
OPERATIONS CENTERS
KIFISSIA - GREECE
www.ekepy-eu-experts-meeting2014.eu
2014
May 9-10
Pentelikon Hotel
Organized by
NATIONAL HEALTH
OPERATIONS CENTER
Under the Auspices of
HELLENIC PRESIDENCY
OF THE COUNCIL OF
THE EUROPEAN UNION
HELLENIC REPUBLIC
MINISTRY OF HEALTH
OFFICIAL REPORT
EU HIGH
LEVEL
EXPERT
MEETING
REPORT
National Health Operations Center (EKEPY)
The scientific program involved a
of the Hellenic Ministry of Health had the
honor and pleasure to organize for the first
time not only in Greece but also in Europe
under the auspices of the Greek Presidency of
the European Union and the Ministry of
Health an EU High Level Experts Meeting
entitled: “Health Emergency Management in
the EU – The role of National Health
Operations Centers” on 9 & 10 May 2014 at
«Pentelikon Hotel», in Kifissia.
significant number of specialists and
senior officers of Health Operations
Centers of EU Member - States such as
Sweden , Belgium , Portugal , Slovenia ,
Bulgaria, Cyprus , Lithuania , Poland and
Latvia as well as excellent representatives
of the national academic field, but also
experts on health crisis management
derived from international organizations
such as the World Health Organization
( WHO) , the International Organization
for Migration ( IOM ) and European
Institutions such as the European
Commission (DG SANCO/C3)
The purpose of this meeting was to discuss
health security related issues mainly in the
axis of exchanging experiences and best
followed practices at National and European
level enhancing further the collaboration
between Member -States in this field.
2
During the lectures and round tables
developed both days of the meeting the
participants (over 300 health professionals,
managers, senior and executive officers from
the health sector, the civil protection, the
police force, the fire department, the Ministry
of Defense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
and a variety of other agencies), had the
opportunity to attend to a series of fruitful
discussions on matters that currently concern
Europe as a whole, as a community of people.
c) Health Stock Piles and the procedure
of the Joint Procurement Agreement of
medical
countermeasures
currently
finalized at a European level
d) Acute Public Health Events.
Operational Planning – Management in
a Time of Crisis where the challenges
and the lessons learned in the recent past
while
Europe
handled
health
emergencies (Avian Influenza [H5N1],
H1N1 virus, MERS-CoV threat, issues
relating to poliomyelitis etc) were
discussed
The main topics which were developed can
be described as follows:
a)National Health Operations Centers:
Interoperability in the European Union
highlighting the need for better and more
effective coordination between agencies
e) Health Management of Immigrants Cross-border Health Threats where the
provision of health care services
particularly in Greece and the experience
of migration as an intercultural
phenomenon were presented
b)Emergencies,
Mass
Casualties.
Interoperability of the Health Sector in the
European Union where the notion of
interconnection
and
networking
of
Emergency Operations Centers emerged as
a key concept for designing future actions
and developing potential partnerships in
managing health crisis among EU countries
3
Declaring the commencement
of the meeting the Minister of
Health Mr. Adonis Georgiadis
underlined the fact that in a
constantly changing economic
environment where the followed
policies are characterized mainly
by fiscal austerity, the Health
Sector can and should constitute
an integrated mechanism of
sustainable growth. A growth
the realization of which is
possible to be achieved through
investing in human resources
namely in disseminating acquired knowledge.
In this sense he warmly welcomed the
innovative initiative of National Health
Operations Center to organize this meeting
hoping not only for productive conclusions
but for implementable recommendations as
well.
Minister of
Health
Mr. A.
Georgiadis
Opening
Address
Friday 9 of May Sessions
The Commander of the National
Health Operations Center Dr Panos
Efstathiou followed by the Deputy
Commander of the Civil Protection
Operation Center Mr. Anastopoulos
Panagiotis described the existing
health security system in Greece
stressing out that, in the recent past
while handling health emergencies it
has been proven to us that only
through effective collaboration and
coordination of the various involved
agencies, we can adequately respond
to emerging health threats.
Under the light of the recent
The main focus of the meeting’s first day
sessions was in presenting the existing
health security structures of the
participating countries within a scope of
identifying not only differences but also
common grounds that could be the basis
of a future collaboration.
developments in the legislative sector
at the European level where the
European Commission has currently
launched the implementation of
1082/2013 EU Decision on cross –
border threats to health (put in force
since 6-11-2013 ) marking the
establishment of the Health Security
Committee, all Member- States are
bound to reorient their followed
practices onto a more interactive
approach,
promoting
the
interoperability between the competent
agencies at both National
and International level.
4
As it was comprehensively presented to us by
Jean – Luc Sion (DG SANCO), the new
Decision strengthens EU Health Security
Framework
through
an
integrated,
coordinated and comprehensive approach for
preparedness, risk assessment and crisis
response. The main pillars of this legislative
intervention include the following:
 Preparedness and response
planning
 Joint procurement of Medical
countermeasures
 Epidemic surveillance for
communicable diseases
 Ad- hoc monitoring for bio-toxins
chemicals and environmental
threats
 Early Warning and Response
Systems
 Clarification of responsibility for
risk assessments
 Strengthened coordination of
preparedness and measures by a
strong Health Security Committee
 Risk and crisis communication as
part of the response
 Recognition of emergency
situation
Memorandum of Understanding recently
signed by DG ECHO, DG HOME and DG
SANCO on strengthening the cooperation
between the three competent ICC’s
(Internal Crisis Centers) of the European
Commission namely STAR (Strategic
Assessment and Response- DG HOME),
ERCC
(Emergency
and
Response
Coordination Centre -DG ECHO) and
HEOF (Health Emergency Operations
Facility - DG SANCO) will increase EU's
capacity to respond to major multi sector
emergencies.
While discussing the issue of public
health emergency preparedness and
response describing the structure and
organization of Health Security
Services in:
 Sweden
(presented by Dr Wallensten Anders)
 Belgium
(presented by Dr Tsachoua Luc)
 Slovenia
(presented by Dr Nuška Čakš Jager)
 Lithuania
(presented by Dr. Vytautas Gailius)
 Portugal
(presented by Mrs. Santos Cristina)
 Bulgaria
(presented by Mr. Dobrev Dimitar,)
In this respect enhancing further the
implementation of the above Decision the
5
 Bosnia and Herzegovina
(presented by Dr Dragan Bogdanić)
the need of promoting interoperability
and how much we could benefit from it
was a notion that repeatedly emerged as
a message.
National Health Operations Centers or
similar health security structures
established not only at EU Member –
States but at non-EU countries as well
(operating in most cases locally,
regionally and nationally) present
variations
but
also
common
characteristics in:
 Standards and Interoperability
 Information and Communication
Technology
 Emergency Operation Plans
(EOPs)
 Response Procedures and Involved
Agencies
 Proper training and
Exercises
 Communication and
Coordination
Recognizing the fact that the existing
variations create significant obstacles
among agencies responding to a major
health emergency or disaster, Dr Jian Li
(WHO) underlined that the deployment
of the WHO project on establishing an
EOC-Network will strengthen global
public health EOC capacities and will
promote better communication and
coordination, aiming in an effective
multi-sectoral response.
Networking as explicitly described by
Mr.
Kotis
Takis
(Cambridge
University Hospitals Advisor) is a
worldwide trend in health care. A trend
which introduces among other
variables,
new
organizational
arrangements focused on more
coordinated and integrated forms of
health
emergency
response.
Networking can constitute a solid
solution in answering the emerging
challenges in the field of cross-border
health threats.
Prof. Rosenberg Theophilos aptly
noted that there is no doubt that while
discussing
health
emergency
management in the EU we should
proceed
in
accepting
certain
assumptions such as the fact that we
live in an interconnected world where
many aspects of human life such as
travel and trade, have a global
dimension. This global dimension of
human
activity
increases
our
vulnerability as a community of people
against cross- border health threats that
have significant consequences not only
for health but for economies as well,
disrupting the continuity
of social activity.
6
In a comprehensive analysis of these
Although ambitious it could be a
threats consequently presented by Dr
Karageorgou Katerina (National Health
Operations Center) was emphasized that
lessons learned in the recent past while
handling acute public health events and
health emergencies (Avian Influenza
[H5N1], H1N1 virus, MERS-co threat,
issues relating to poliomyelitis etc.)
underline the fact that although the
advances in the field of health crisis
management are exceptional, there is a
significant proportion of work still left to
be done. Work towards a different
orientation.
project, the potentials of which can
be enormously beneficiary in terms
of rapid and effective emergency
response. Mr. Gogosis Konstantinos
(National Health Operations Center)
while presenting cases of acute public
health events management at nonEU countries reached at the same
conclusion.
What we should do is move from
reacting to events to being prepared to
respond to new events. The same
message was highlighted also by Dr
Iliopoulos Dimitrios (HCDCP) indicating
additionally
the
benefits
from
establishing throughout Europe the
concept of epidemiological intelligence.
The idea and possibility of launching
specific
efforts
around
the
standardization of procedures and
protocols of health crisis management
taking advantage of the benefits of
current ICT available technologies was
presented
by
Mr.
Antonopoulos
Lykourgos (OTE Group) and could
enable us to close existing gaps in crisis
communication coordination.
This is a very complex and rather
ambitious project considering the
diversity and differentiality of existing
health emergency management structures
and functions not only in the EU but also
in non –EU countries as Mrs. Dimadama
Zefi (International Centre for Black Sea
Studies) eloquently described during her
presentation.
7
Saturday 10 of May Sessions
During the second day of the meeting it
was emphasized that responses to major
disasters tend to be complex, not merely
because of the size and scale of
operations and the number of countries
and agencies involved, but also because
of the range of functions represented by
these organizations. International health
security can be improved with the control
of known existing risks to public health
which potentially may lead to a public
health emergency.
was stressed by Dr Gerald
Rockenschaub (WHO Europe).EOC is
both a platform for event monitoring
and information sharing with Member
- States and partners and a regional
hub for emergency preparedness and
operational support to manage public
health events and humanitarian health
emergencies. The main steps forward
is a “network of interoperable EOCs
to support comprehensive “allhazards” emergency risk management
(based on the IHR), strengthen
coordination using a multi sector
approach, cross border collaboration
since “crises don’t respect borders”,
exercises and drills in order to test
plans and capacity building through
sharing
expertise,
as
Mr.
Rockenschaub underlined in his
speech.
Emergencies in public health may arise
by traffic accidents, maritime accidents
as Prof. Theodoros Kyprianou stated in
his speech, emerging communicable
diseases, mass gatherings such as
sporting events analysed by Mrs.
Zacharoula Manolidou and Panagiota
Mandi (National Health Operations
Center) and/or international travel.
Mrs. Natalia Patsioti from the General
Secretariat for Civil Protection analyzed
how preparedness planning is essential
for developing and strengthening our
capacity to detect and rapidly respond to
any kind of emergency that affects, or is
likely to affect people’s health.
The transboundary dimension of
health management of immigrants as
consequently discussed, showed that
human migration across international
borders connects the health of
communities in origin, transit and
destination countries.
Population
mobility has been
identified as an underlying factor in
the emergence and spread of diseases
that pose global health risk.
At a European level, the interoperability
of the Health Sector is monitored by the
WHO Europe Emergency Operations
Center (EOC) based in Copenhagen as it
8
Dr. Panos Efstathiou analyzed the Health
Mrs. Maria Tseroni from the Hellenic
Coverage of Detention Centers and
Preliminary Reception Centers of illegal
migrants in Greece, a new initiative
undertaken by the Hellenic Ministry of
Health. Mrs. Agoritsa Baka referred to
the Preliminary Report of the Experts
Meeting of the Hellenic Center for
Disease Control and Prevention and
ECDC, stating that across Europe there is
a variety of migrant targeted health
policies and a need to strengthen health
systems’
capacity
&
emergency
preparedness, surveillance & response /
screening for infectious
diseases,
promote access to comprehensive health
care and support first arrival of migrants
at destination countries.
CDC showcased a series of activities to
prevent the re-establishment of malaria
in Greece whereas Mr. Jean –Daniel
Colombani, special consultant of the
Hellenic Minister of Health on
Migration Health Policy analyzed the
intercultural phenomenon of illegal
migration in Greece.
Mrs. Mariya Samuilova, representing the
European Region of International
Organization for Migration, emphasized
that the effective management of
migration and global health issues
requires
close
cooperation
and
collaboration among countries along
migration routes while she developed in
great analysis the EQUI-HEALTH
Action, a DGA
(Direct
Grant
Agreement) awarded to IOM from the
European Commission’s Directorate
General for Health and Consumers (DG
SANCO).
The economic and social proportions of
Acute Public Health events were
explored by Professors Aggelos
Hatzakis and John Yfantopoulos as well
as Dr. Emmanuel Alexandrakis,
Associate Director of MSD.
The subjects addressed included: the
successful implementation of the
“ARSTOTEL Program”, a Program to
control HIV/AIDS in Intravenous Drug
Users in Athens; the consequences of
the ageing population and chronic
diseases on health care systems; the
consequences that the austerity budget
cuts have on people’s health; the efforts
that policy-makers should make in
order the healthcare system become
more efficient and ensure that cost
savings create headroom to allow
further investments in prevention,
preparedness and response mechanisms
for potential acute public health
emergencies.
Patient-centered healthcare, focus on
value, adaptation of the “Health in All
Policies”
approach
and
the
embracement of innovation and new
business models, are the key drivers in
the more effective management of acute
public health care events.
9
While elaborating on the different aspects
The Joint Procurement Agreement
of issues related to Health Stock Piles the
results of two presentations made by Dr.
Athina Kyrlesi, General Director of Public
Health and Quality of Life of the Hellenic
Ministry of Health and Mrs. Elena Tsagkari,
CEO of the Institute of Pharmaceutical
Research and Technology can be
summarized as follows:
will be managed by the Joint
Procurement Agreement Steering
Committee- with a representative of
all participating MS- will have the
mandate to decide for all relevant
issues raised and will be on a
voluntarily basis.
 The development of interventions and
the appropriate stockpiling of critical
supplies require specific disease knowledge
and a variety of partnership within the
public and private sector
 Ensuring that key medical supplies are
available during emergencies is a
continuous process of acquiring and
managing assets, providing technical
assistance and evaluating readiness
In this light, the European Commission
approved very recently a Joint Procurement
Agreement which will enable all EU
countries to procure pandemic vaccines and
other medical countermeasures as a group,
ensuring both sufficient quantities and
correct price as Mr. Jean –Luc Sion (DG
SANCO) stressed in his speech. The joint
procurement initiative will strongly improve
preparedness for all cross-border threats to
health as it will create conditions for any
medical countermeasure for the mitigation
of any cross-border threat to health, to be
procured
in
common.
The
Joint
Procurement Agreement which is not an
international treaty is based on:
 Article 5 of the Decision 1082/2013/EU
on the serious cross-border threats to
health;
 Article 168 of the TFEU.
10
Conclusively
As the EU High Level Experts Meeting
organized by the National Health
Operations Center of the Hellenic
Ministry of Health was driven to a close,
the core message that emerged as Mrs.
Tsekoura Anna (National Health
Operations
Center)
emphatically
described during her presentation at the
conclusive session, can be summarized in
the following sentence: in order to build
up our capacity to prevent, detect early,
and respond rapidly and effectively to a
variety of threats in the most adequate
way, we should establish practices
exploring new paths of communication,
exchange of information and better
coordination of involved stakeholders
and competent agencies in an
international level.
International level constitutes a
claim repeatedly underlined while
discussing issues related to health
emergency management.
In this context the collaboration
that we propose, highlights the
fact that while considering cross –
border health threats and the
challenges they introduce to health
systems, we should change our
current mentality and move from a
reactive approach to a “proactive
philosophy” aiming mainly in
improving mutual knowledge and
understanding
of
national
capabilities in health crisis
management.
T he
strengthening
of
the
exchange of information (in a
real-time
basis),
the
dissemination of lessons learned,
the sharing of risk analysis
capabilities and the realization of
joint training initiatives can be
some of the next steps that could be
taken towards this direction.
Ultimately the goal of this meeting
Practices
such
as
developing
interconnected networks of Emergency
Operations Centers facilitating further an
intergraded
multi-sectoral,
multidisciplinary and multi-jurisdictional
response to health threats.
was to bring together experts from
the field of health emergency
management establishing closer
relations between them, with the
notion of future realization of the
above mentioned key proposal.
The
importance
of
promoting
interoperability between
competent
agencies at both National and
11
Acknowledgements
The President and the Members of the Organising Committee would like to express
their gratitude not only to the speakers mentioned to the above report but to the
distinguished academics as well as the prominent professionals of the health sector, the
pharmaceutical industry and the ministry officials, that honored them with their
presence these two days of this event. Their outstanding and widely acclaimed
discourses, under the general title:”Special Lectures” were accepted by the audience
with very flattering remarks and significantly contributed to the high scientific level of
the meeting’s programme.
Additionally they would like to express their special thanks to the invited chairmen of
the meeting's round tables. Their invaluable contribution and their active participation
to the consequent discussions that led to the successful realization of this event are duly
acknowledged.
The scientific program of the meeting as well as a full list of invited speakers and
chairmen is provided at the end of the current document.
This report was authored by Dr Panos Efstathiou, Anna Tsekoura and Panagiota Mandi.
Text edited and formatted by Anna Tsekoura with contribution by Ioanna Agrafa.
12
Scientific Programme
FRIDAY 9 OF MAY
08:30 Registration
09:00 - 10:00 Opening Ceremony - Welcome Addresses
Dr. Efstathiou Panos, Commander, National Health Operations Center, Hellenic
Ministry of Health, President of the Organising Committee
Mr. Vlastarakos Michalis, President, Hellenic Medical Association
Mr. Adonis Georgiadis, Minister of Health
Opening Lectures:
•International Operational Actions of the Hellenic Ministry of Health, Papanoti V.
•The Longevity in the Global Context, Stefanadis Ch.
10:00 - 12:30 Round Table:
National Health Operations Centers: Interoperability in the European Union
Chairmen: Bonatsos G., Kostopoulos N., Michos N.
•National Health Operations Center: Structure, Operation & Mission, Efstathiou P.
•Civil Protection Operation Centre. Special Health Operations, Anastopoulos P.
•The Implementation of 1082/2013 EU Decision
on Serious Cross - Border Threats to Health, Sion J. - L.
•EU Member - States Representatives
-Structure and Organization of Health Security Services in Sweden, Wallensten A.
-Public Health Emergency Preparedness & Response in Belgium, Tsachoua L.
-The Role of the Permanent Coordination Group at the National Institute of
Public Health, Caks Jager N.
-Health Emergency Preparedness in Lithuania, Gailius V.
-The Public Health Emergency Operations Centre in Portugal: from Early Detection to
Response to National and International Threats, Santos C.
-Strategy for the Development of the Emergency Aid in the Republic of Bulgaria 20142020, Dobrev D.
12:30 - 12:45 Break
12:45 - 14:00 Round Table:
Acute Public Health Events. Operational Planning - Management in a Time of Crisis
Chairmen: Kourea - Kremastinou J., Vakalis N., Karageorgos G.
13
•Acute Public Health Events. The Hellenic Center for Disease Control and Prevention
Experience, Papadimitriou Th.
•Travel Medicine - A Cross - Border Issue. Operational Planning & Response,
Rosenberg Th.
•Poliomyelitis. A Forgotten Disease or an Emerging Threat?, Karageorgou K.
•Emergency Operation Centre of the Hellenic Center for Disease Control and Prevention:
Structure, Operations & Actions, Iliopoulos D.
14:00 - 14:20 Lecture
ICT Infrastructure & Services for Health, Antonopoulos L.
14:20 - 15:15 Break
15:15 - 16:30 Special Lectures:
Chairmen: Machairas G., Gaga M., Vlachogianni G.
• Passive Smoking and Human Rights, Bechrakis P.
• The Economic Impact of Accidents on Health Care Systems, Sapkas G.
• Sustainability of the Greek Health Care System, Frouzis K.
• VIP in Travel. Operational Planning of Medical Care, Hatzigeorgiou D.
• Team Approach in Disease Management, Karabinis A.
16:30 - 18:00 Round Table:
Health Emergency Management at non-EU countries
Chairmen: Linou A., Raidou F., Moschovis S.
•The Global Need for Health Care Networking, Kotis T.
•Developing Public Health Emergency Operations Network (EOC-NET), Li J.
•Environmental Hazards - Public Health in Countries Outside the European Union. The
Case of the Black Sea, Dimadama Z.
•Acute Public Health Events at non-EU Countries, Gogossis K.
•Non - EU Countries Representatives
-Structure and Organization of Health Security Services in Albania, Riepaj K.
-Structure and Organization of Health Security Services in the Republic of Srpska, Bosnia
& Herzegovina, Bogdanic D.
14
SATURDAY 10 OF MAY
09:00 - 11:00 Round Table:
Emergencies, Mass Casualties: Interoperability of the Health Sector in the European
Union
Chairmen: Papaefstathiou N., Kokkalakis A., Salteri P.
•The WHO Europe EOC in the UN - city Copenhagen - a Regional Hub for Health Crisis
Management, Rockenschaub G.
•Emergencies - Massive Casualties. General Secretariat for Civil Protection - Operational
Planning, Patsioti N.
•Massive Casualties After Environmental Maritime Accident in the Mediterranean Sea
Region. Operational Medical Planning, Karabinis A., Kyprianou Th.
•Operational Planning of Health Services, Olympic Games “Athens 2004”, Manolidou Z.
•Health Services Operational Planning of Special Olympics World Summer Games
“Athens 2011”, Mandi P.
11:00 - 11:30 Break
11:30 - 13:00 Round Table:
Health Management of Immigrants - Cross-border Health Threats
Chairmen: Papadimitriou Th., Efstathiou P., Bebi M.
•Health Coverage of Detention Centers and Preliminary Reception Centers of Illegal
Immigrants in Greece, Efstathiou P.
•Public Health Benefits of Screening for Infectious Diseases Among Newly Arrived
Migrants in the EU/EEA. Preliminary Report of the Experts Meeting of the Hellenic
Center for Disease Control and Prevention & ECDC, Baka A.
•Healthcare Management of Immigrants. Case Study: Malaria, Tseroni M.
•Illegal Immigrants. An Intercultural Phenomenon, Colombani J.-D.
•The International Organization for Migration (IOM) Experience, Samuilova M.
13:00 - 13.30 Lecture
Haemoglobinopathies on the Move: Is Europe ready?, Eleftheriou A.
13:30 - 14.30 Break
14:30 - 15:30 Round Table:
Acute Public Health Events: Economic and Social Proportions
Chairmen: Hatzakis A., Avgerinos A., Leptokaridou G.
•Successful Implementation of the Program to Control HIV/AIDS in Intravenous
15
Drug Users in Athens: the “ARISTOTEL Program”, Hatzakis A.
•The Economics of Prevention and Policies Against Communicable Diseases,
Yfantopoulos J.
•The Need for Redefining Healthcare Systems: the Role of Innovative Medicine,
Alexandrakis E.
15:30 - 17:00 Round Table:
Health Stock Piles
Chairmen: Tountas I., Kalokairinou A., Thireos E.
•Health Stock Piles. National Central Planning, Kyrlesi A.
•Immediate Supply of Pharmaceuticals in Emergency Situations.
Operational Planning, Tsagkari E.
•Joint Procurement Agreement for Medical Countermeasures. State of Play, Sion J. - L.
•The Greek Pharmaceutical Industry in a European Context, Katsos V.
•Globalization and Pharmaceutical Production, Pentafragas V.
17:00 - 18:00 Special Lectures
Chairmen: Efstathiou P., Kouroupaki E., Papageorgiou N.
•Health’s Sector Development Opportunities for Greek Economy. An Input - Output
Analysis, Μelachrinos P., Lorentzos A.
•The Significance of the Commander’s Post in a Healthcare Unit Under the Light of the
Current Economic, Social and Legislative Conjuncture, Striberis A.
18:00 Remarks - Conclusions
•Health Emergency Management in the EU. Challenges of Today - Pathways of
Tomorrow, Efstathiou P., Tsekoura A.
Closing Ceremony
Dr Christina Papanikolaou,
Secretary General of Public Health , Hellenic Ministry of Health
16
Invited Speakers & Chairmen
Alexandrakis Emmanuel
Gaga Mina
Dr, Associate Director, Policy & Communications,
MSD
MD, PhD, Director, 7th Respiratory Med. Dept
and Asthma Center, Medical Director, Athens
Chest Hospital
Anastopoulos Panagiotis
Gailius Vytautas
Army Colonel, Deputy Commander, Civil Protection
Operation Center, General Secretariat for Civil
Protection, Hellenic Ministry of Public Order and
Citizen Protection
Director, Health Emergency Situations Centre
under the Ministry of Health, Lithuania
Gogossis Konstantinos
Antonopoulos Lykourgos
ICT Director - Corporate Customers, ΟΤΕ
Avgerinos Antonis
MPhil, PhD, Advisor to the Ministry of Health
Baka Agoritsa
Office for Scientific Advice, Hellenic Center for
Disease Control and Prevention
Bebi Margarita
RN, MSc, Director, National Health Operations
Centre,Hellenic Ministry of Health
Hatzakis Angelos
Professor of Epidemiology and Preventive
Medicine, Head of the National Retrovirus
Reference Center and Director of the Department of
Hygiene, Epidemiology and Medical Statistics,
Athens University Medical School
Hatzigeorgiou Dimitrios
Obstetrician - Gynecologist (Breast Surgery), MD,
MSc,Research Associate IASO, Coordinator National
Health Operations Center of Northern Greece,
Hellenic Ministry of Health
Brigadier General (MED), Internal Medicine &
InfectiousDiseases Specialist, Deputy Commander
251 Hellenic Air Force General Hospital
Bechrakis Panagiotis
MD, Public Health Doctor, PhD, Head of Emergency
Operations Centre, Hellenic Center for Disease
Control and Prevention
MD, PhD, FCCP Pulmonologist - Intensivist, Assoc.
Professor, University of Harvard, Researcher,
Biomedical Research Foundation, Academy of
Athens, President, European Network of Smoking
and Tobacco Prevention, President,
National Steering Committee on Tobacco Control
Bogdanic Dragan
Minister of Health and Social Welfare of the
Republic of Srpska, Bosnia & Herzegovina
Bonatsos Gerasimos
Professor of Surgery, University of Athens
v
v
Iliopoulos Dimitrios
Kalokairinou Athina
Professor of Community Health Nursing,
National & Kapodistrian University of Athens
Karabinis Andreas
Professor of Emergency Medicine, Athens Medical School,
National & Kapodistrian University of Athens
Karabinis Apostolos
Caks Jager Nuska
President & Managing Director, Karabinis Medical SA
MD, Public Health Specialist, Communicable
Diseases Center, National Institute of Public Health,
Slovenia
Karageorgos Georgios
Colombani Jean-Daniel
MD, MSc, PhD, Coordinator Manager, National
Health Insurance
Special Consultant of the Minister of Health on
Migration Health Policy
Karageorgou Katerina
Dimadama Zefi
Regional - Enviromental Economist, General Director,
International Centre for Black Sea Studies
MD, PhD, Biopathologist, Public Health Doctor,
Operational Planning Unit, National Health
Operations Center,Hellenic Ministry of Health
Katsos Vassilios
Dobrev Dimitar
President & CEO, Pharmathen SA
Chief Expert at the European Integration,
International Affairs and Protocol Directorate of the
Ministry of Health,Republic of Bulgaria
Kokkalakis Athanasios
Eleftheriou Androulla
Hellenic Police Senior Officer, Police Colonel,
Crisis Management Expert
TIF Executive Director
Kostopoulos Nikolaos
Efstathiou Panos
Exec.MBA, MSc, Executive Vise-President of the
Board of Directors of National Center of
Emergency Care
MD., PhD, Commander, National Health Operations
Center, Hellenic Ministry of Health, President of the
Organising Committee
Frouzis Konstantinos
President, Hellenic Association of Pharmaceutical
Companies (SFEE), Vice President & General
Director Novartis Hellas
Kotis Takis
Senior Management Consultant, Strategy &
Planning, Cambridge University Hospitals
NHS Foundation Trust, United Kingdom
Kourea-Kremastinou Jenny
Papaefstathiou Nikolaos
Professor of Public Health, National School of
Public Health, President of the Hellenic Center for
Disease Control & Prevention
General Manager, Filoktitis SA
Kouroupaki Evangelia
Dentist
Kyprianou Theodoros
Papageorgiou Nikolaos
Orthopedic Surgeon, National Health Operations
Center, Hellenic Ministry of Health
Papanoti Vassiliki
Pulmonologist - Intensivist, Associate Professor St.
Georges’ University of London Medical School,
University of Nicosia, Cyprus
BA, MSc, Director of International Relations
Department Hellenic Ministry of Health
Kyrlesi Athina
Directorate of Planning & Emergency Response,
Dr, Chief Medical Officer, General Director of Public
Health & Quality of Life, Hellenic Ministry of Health
General Secretariat for Civil Protection, Hellenic
Leptokaridou Georgia
Pentafragas Vassilios
Executive Officer, National Health Operations Center
of Northern Greece, Hellenic Ministry of Health
Li Jian
Patsioti Natalia
Ministry of Public Order and Citizen Protection
Corporate Affairs Director, ELPEN Pharmaceutical
Inc., Executive Consultant Panhellenic Union of
Pharmaceutical Industry
Technical Officer, Global Preparedness, Surveillance
and Response Operations (PSR), World Health
Organization
Raidou Filomila
Linou Athina
Riepaj Klodjan
Professor of Epidemiology, Athens University Medical
School
Deputy Minister of Health, Albania
Lorentzos Athanasios
MPH, Programme Manager, Country Emergency
Preparedness, Division of Communicable
Diseases, Health Security & Environment, World
Health Organization, Regional Office for Europe,
Denmark
Tax-Fiscal Auditor Financial Crime Unit (S.D.O.E.)
Attica Regional Division, Hellenic Ministry of Finance
Machairas Georgios
MD, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, Member of
Ex.Com. of EFORT, Director of Medical Services,
Athens General Hospital “KAT”
Mandi Panagiota
MSc, Sociologist of Health, National Health
Operations Center, Hellenic Ministry of Health
Manolidou Zacharoula
Colonel rt RN, M.C. National Health Operations
Center General Coordinator, Hellenic Ministry of
Health
Melachrinos Panagiotis
BsC Economics, BsC Business Administration, MSc
Economics, Tax-Fiscal Auditor Financial Crime Unit
(S.D.O.E.) Attica Regional Division, Hellenic Ministry
of Finance
Michos Nikolaos
Doctor of Public Health, Director NHS,
Inspector, National Health Operations Center,
Hellenic Ministry of Health
Moshovis Sarantis
First Counselor for Economic and Commercial
Affairs, BSEC Division, B2 Directorate, Ministry of
Foreign Affairs
Papadimitriou Theodoros
MD,General Director - Hellenic Center for Disease
Control and Prevention
General Director for Administrative Support &
Technical Ιnfrastructure
Rockenschaub Gerald
Rosenberg Theophilos
Assoc. Professor of Surgery, Medical School
of Athens, National & Kapodistrian University
of Athens
Salteri Popi
Anaesthetist, National Health Operations Center,
Hellenic Ministry of Health
Samuilova Mariya
Migration Health Officer, European Region,
International Organization for Migration,
Migration Health Division
Santos Cristina
Coordinator of the Support Unit of the National
Public Health Officer and Public Health
Emergencies Management, Portugal
Sapkas Georgios
Professor of Orthopaedics, National & Kapodistrian
University of Athens
Sion Jean - Luc
Senior Principal Administrator, Policy Officer
Directorate General Health and Consumers (DG
SANCO) Unit C3- Health Threats, European
Commission
Stefanadis Christodoulos
Professor of Cardiology, Director, 1st
Department of Cardiology, Athens
University Medical School, “Hippokration”
Hospital
Striberis Alexandros
Lawyer Specialized in Penal Financial Law
Thireos Eleftherios
General Practitioner, Public Health Consultant
Secretary General, Athens Medical Society
Tountas Ioannis
Professor of Social and Preventive Medicine,
University of Athens
Tsachoua Luc
MD, MSc in Public Health, Chief Project Officer at
the Public Health Emergency Cell of the Belgian
Ministry of Health
Tsagkari Elena
CEO Institute of Pharmaceutical Research &
Technology (IPRT S.A.)
Tsekoura Anna
MSc, Sociologist, Executive Administrative
Officer, National Health Operations Center,
Hellenic Ministry of Health, Vice-President of the
Organising Committee
Tseroni Maria
RN, MA, Ph(c), Hellenic Centre Disease Control and
Prevention, National Health Operations Center,
Hellenic Ministry of Health
Vakalis Nikolaos
Emeritus Professor of Parasitology, Medical
Entomology & Tropical Diseases, National
School of Public Health
Vlachogianni Glykeria
Director of ICU, General Hospital of
Thessaloniki “Agios Dimitrios”
Wallensten Anders
MD, PhD, Deputy State Epidemiologist,
Zoonoses & Preparedness, Public Health
Agency of Sweden
Yfantopoulos John
Professor of Health Economics,
University of Athens