The OTS is the first international organization to hold a Summit on COVID-19 pandemic at the level of Heads of States on the global scale. At the Summit, the Heads of States put a special emphasis on need of a close cooperation with the WHO.
The OTS has been in close contact with the World Health
Organization (WHO) since the outbreak of the pandemic.
Director General of WHO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus delivered a speech at the Extraordinary
Video Summit of the OTS held on 10 April 2020. WHO Regional Director for Europe Dr. Hans
Kluge also delivered speeches at the Meeting of the Ministers of Health of the OTS on 28
April 2020 and at 4th Meeting of the Health Scientific Group of the Organization on 30
October 2020.
OTS in its turn for the first time participated as a partner at the 70th session of the WHO
Regional Committee for Europe on 14 September 2020 and the Secretary General delivered a
statement emphasizing support to the proposal of WHO European Regional Office to unite
efforts of regional multilateral institutions and mechanisms around health as one of the key
objectives of the European Programme of Work (2020–2025) – “United Action for Better Health
in Europe”.
The Secretary General and WHO Regional Director with the aim of putting the relations
between the two organizations into an institutionalized framework and establishing the legal
basis for future engagements signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on 11 September
2020.
To discuss the cooperation opportunities, as well as to develop an Action Plan between the
OTS and WHO on the basis of the MOU signed between the two organizations, the Secretary
General visited the Regional Office for Europe of WHO in Copenhagen on 30 November-1
December 2020.
The parties reaffirmed their determination and solidarity in the fight against COVID-19
pandemic as well as in implementation of the MOU and European Program of Work for
2020–2025.
They also agreed to organize online training programs for health professionals, to
accelerate implementation of the International Health Regulation (2005), to improve high
vaccination coverage, conduct capacity building for data and health information systems,
strengthen digital health in primary health as well as together with the WHO Representatives
in the Member and Observer States’s capitals to start procedures of designating new WHO
Collaboration Centers.
As a result of the close cooperation between the two organizations, Prof. Dr. Emine Alp
Meşe, Deputy Minister of Health of the Republic of Turkey and the Chair of the OTS Health
Scientific Group also contributes to the work of the Scientific Advisory Board of the
Pan-European Commission on Health and Sustainable Development as the representative of the
Organization.
The OTS Secretariat participated in the 72nd session of the WHO Regional Committee for
Europe (RC72), on 12–14 September 2022 in Tel Aviv, Israel. The event gathered the Heads of
States and Governments, Ministers of health, representatives from 53 countries and
international partner organizations across the WHO European Region met first time in-person
in three years. In the margins of the RC72nd session, the delegation of the Secretariat and
the WHO Europe held meeting to discuss future joint activities and agreed to collaborate on
organizing a conference on “Emergency Preparedness and Sustainable Development – shaping our
future in a transforming world” in 2023.
Latest meeting between the OTS Secretary General and World Health Organization (WHO)
Regional Director for Europe, was held in Copenhagen, Denmark on 28 October 2023 where the
parties signed an Action Plan for the implementation of the MoU on cooperation between the
two organizations for the term 2024-2025. In line with the Action Plan, two organizations
will hold cooperation in strengthening emergency preparedness and response, empowering
health systems, ensuring healthy lives and well-being for all and creating an enabling
environment for a good partnership. At the meeting also, OTS Secretary General and WHO
Europe Director discussed the prospective cooperation opportunities between the OTS and
WHO/Europe with the aim to focus on digitalization, capacity building programs,
environmentally sustainable health care facilities.