Making a Difference
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Making a difference Marc Sprenger MD PhD Candidate Regional Director of the WHO Regional Office for Europe It is my pleasure to introduce you to our candidate for the WHO Regional Office for Europe, Marc Sprenger MD PhD For the Netherlands, the World Health Organization (WHO) is a most important and inspiring organisation. The WHO sets standards in a large variety of health fields and provides technical support where it is needed the most. WHO as an organisation is as influential and strong as the people who work for it. The Netherlands wishes to contribute to the organisation not only in financial terms – as one of the top donors – but also through active participation. We would like to actively invest in the leadership of the WHO through Marc Sprenger. Why is Marc Sprenger an outstanding candidate for the post of Regional Director of the WHO Regional Office for Europe? He has many years of hands-on experience in all aspects of the health system. He is a doctor, a medical specialist with a dual track in infectious diseases and health systems, a researcher and a translator of science into practice. At the political level he is adviser to different ministers. Moreover, he has practical experience in transforming health systems as he was at the centre of developing and implementing the recent comprehensive reform of the Dutch health system. Secondly, he has twenty years of international experience, as a researcher, as Chairman of the Management Board of the European Centre for Disease Prevention & Control (ECDC) and as an active Member of the Executive Board of the International Association of National Public Health Institutes (IANPHI). Thirdly, he has fifteen years ofmanagement experience being the responsible administrator of the respective organisations he led. Dr Sprenger knows how to attract and to inspire qualified staff and how to make organisations financially solid. Throughout his career, Marc Sprenger has shown that he can make a difference. He is eager to provide the Regional Office with a new future. He plans to modernise the Office, build bridges with all relevant parties and introduce new health system concepts. In this brochure, Marc Sprenger will share with you his vision and incentives to stand as a candidate for the post of Regional Director of the WHO Regional Office for Europe. We hope the Member States of the WHO European Region are ready to choose a different future! Jan Peter Balkenende, Prime Minister of the Netherlands To me, Marc Sprenger is one of Guiding principles those reliable cornerstones of There are three guiding principles that I would use to realise Public Health in action. my agenda: The way RIVM takes leadership 1. Offer a ‘tailored approach’ instead of ‘one size fits all’; in crises like the current outbreak 2. Make a difference by focusing on implementation of of the new Influenza A(H1N1) strategies and resolutions; demonstrates the intimate 3. Learn from the past. connection between expertise and active, trustworthy risk management. Ab Klink, Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport, the Netherlands My agenda for the next five years The Regional Office is the number one partner for Member States, other WHO offices, the European Union and many other parties to increase public health. I would therefore work to achieve the following tangible results within the next five years. 1. Responsive health care systems This will require improving or reforming national health systems at several levels: equitable access, organisation, insurance and/or reimbursement, professional quality, and public trust. The Tallinn Declaration provides a good foundation to build upon, but WHO will need to provide further guidance to Member States on how to actually fulfil their stewardship roles. 2. Primary health care in the driver‘s seat Repeating the Alma Ata message and last year’s World Health Report, primary healthcare needs to be put back in the driver’s seat, as it plays an essential role in effectively dealing with today’s major health problems. Working with other countries, 3. Put your money where the chronic problems are No less than 86% of all mortality in the Region is due to non-communicable Marc gave wide counsel diseases whereas relatively few resources are spent on ways to address this. Prevention policies can be effective in many cases, for example by reducing and guidance, alcohol abuse and cigarette smoking and by promoting healthier lifestyles. whilst respecting their 4. Planet, people, pandemic preparedness - a balanced approach This includes creating region-specific control measures, increasing vaccination independence and coverage, fighting the spread of antibiotics resistance, improving surveillance, early-warning systems and syndrome surveillance, increasing crisis control unique situation. capacity overall and helping Member States to implement the International Health Regulations. Prof. Pat Troop, former Chief Executive of the Health Protection Agency, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Instruments to realise my agenda To realise my agenda, I would use the following instruments: 1. Further build the office (motivated staff and financially solid); 2. Build bridges between East & West and science & society; 3. Help build stronger health systems that deliver what they promise. 1. Further build the office (motivated staff and financially solid) First, I would like to focus on further building the office. The Regional Office critically depends on the knowledge, skills and motivation of its experts. If elected, I will bring fifteen years of experience in motivating and building ‘healthy’ organisations. Paying attention to and involving staff is a hallmark of my leadership style. I manage organisations using transparency, openness, participation, delegating responsibilities, and building trust and confidence. I put particular emphasis on performance management. Strong performance needs to be rewarded, and those who underperform need to be challenged. The Regional Office should be lean and mean. Regarding communication, Marc always impressed me with I want to listen and connect with my staff. I am most happy when I see employees sparkle and grow. his dynamism, work capacity and 2. Build bridges commitment to public health. I strongly believe in building bridges. Throughout my career, my diplomatic, political, intercultural and strategic skills, coupled with broad technical It was during a remarkable visit expertise, have allowed me to help form strong alliances with a wide variety of partners and parties. It is my top priority to connect on different levels. to a shantytown in Rio de Bridging East and West Janeiro, that I discovered his The Regional Office needs to bring countries together to exchange ideas, develop a common understanding, promote collaboration and find new extraordinary social sensibility. solutions for the benefit of all. It is my experience with the International Association of National Public Health He is, for sure, a leader in Institute (IANPHI) that linkages among members to share solutions and increase resources lead to stronger public health systems. Horizontal learning works. global public health. Bridging science and society Paulo Buss, In bridging science and society the essential crossing happens at political levels former President and Director in Member States. For example, much scientific expertise is available on health of FIOCRUZ Center for Global Health, inequalities and obesity. Most health improvement therefore will be gained by National Institute of Public Health, translating this knowledge into action plans that will be successfully implemented. Brazil In my current position as Director General of the Netherlands National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), I managed to transform the Institute from a research-dominated organisation into one that brings science to society. By making research more accessible and applicable to professionals, politicians and citizens, we have been able to increase the value of our work considerably. Bridging different WHO offices The Regional Office is part of the WHO family. The essence of family is that its members experience lifelong relationships, which they can build on. As within real families, however, good communication is essential. The Regional Director has a crucial role in building bridges with other WHO family members and making sure these relationships are mutually beneficial. My primary agenda in this respect would be to help disseminate headquarters’ expertise within countries and societies of the WHO European Region, provide the Office’s region-specific expertise and focus on tailor made implementation. Global co-operation, local implementation In today’s world, it is essential to build and maintain international co-operation networks. My credo has always been: ‘Why make things difficult when we can also work together?’ We should be pragmatic in this. We need to learn how to complement each other’s efforts and not to duplicate them. My agenda includes the promotion of integrated approaches towards close co-operation with other UN institutions, Marc is not only the European Commission and other parties that are contributing to global public health. The Regional Office has the authority to co-ordinate highly competent, health programmes in which many organisations participate. Interagency co-ordination meetings can be set up in order to share good practices. I also he is also gifted think more interactions and cross-fertilisation is possible with the hosting country of Denmark and the city of Copenhagen. to surround himself 3. Help build stronger health systems that deliver what they promise by skilled people The third element of my agenda would be to help building stronger systems. Throughout my ten years of hands-on experience in health systems, I learned and so achieve how difficult but vital it is to further build a functional health system. Focus points for the Regional Office would be to show public health leadership on the impossible. health systems by facilitating monitoring and forecasting, providing information on the burden of disease, supporting Member States in the development of Prof. Rajae El Aouad, their health systems and providing training to Member States.