Health development action is the WHO contribution to international reconstruction efforts in south-eastern Europe.

New publication from the Mental Health project

A new report, Approaching Mental Health Care Reform Regionally: The Mental Health Project for South-eastern Europe, 2009, offers a clear account of the impressive efforts made by the Stability Pact's Social Cohesion Initiative which was launched in 2002. The report details the project implementation, including lessons learned from the development of national policies and legislation, the establishment of pilot mental health community centres and the training of mental health professionals from the actual experiences of the participating countries.

New report on the tobacco epidemic in south-eastern Europe

Tobacco is a leading contributor to disease in south-eastern Europe, and in 2005 a project was launched on tobacco control. A new report, Reversing the tobacco epidemic: Saving lives in South-eastern Europe, 2008, features the challenges faced by each country project team, and describes their activities and achievements.

Background

In 1999, the international community established the Stability Pact for South East Europe as a conflict-prevention and reconstruction process in the region. In 2001, a health component was added to the Pact's Social Cohesion Initiative – the aim being to bring people together across borders to improve health in the whole region.