Sanja Musić Milanović Announces Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen in Croatia
The wife of the President of the Republic of Croatia Professor Sanja Musić Milanović, Ph. D., participated this week in the 72nd session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe in Tel Aviv, where she announced the holding of the Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen in Croatia next year, in cooperation with the World Health Organization, on the issue of childhood obesity.
Among her other activities during her stay in Israel, Prof. Dr. Sanja Musić Milanović accepted an invitation to meet with the wife of the President of the State of Israel, Michal Herzog, with whom she discussed various topics of mutual interest, especially the relationship between obesity in children and mental health. This is precisely why an interdepartmental dialogue is needed that would encourage social and financial investments to solve the problem of obesity in children, they concluded during their meeting.
During her participation in the 72nd session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe, Prof. Dr. Sanja Musić Milanović also held a meeting with the Director-General of the World Health Organization Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, with whom, as the previously recognized “2022 Health Champion,” she discussed further steps for joint cooperation.
In her closing remarks at the discussion organized by Portugal, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and Croatia on the topic “The fight against excessive body weight and obesity in children in the European region,” Prof. Dr. Sanja Musić Milanović stressed that obesity is a complex disease that is also a risk factor for the onset of other chronic non-communicable diseases such as type 2 diabetes, mental health disorders, cardiovascular diseases, etc.
“I must emphasize that even before the pandemic, not a single country from the European Region of the World Health Organization came close to achieving our goal, which is to stop the increase in the proportion of obese children. We can all agree that achieving that goal is even more challenging after the pandemic. That is why now, more than ever, our common goal and commitment to the prevention of chronic non-communicable diseases, especially the prevention of obesity in children, must be placed at the top of the political agenda,” said Prof. Dr. Sanja Musić Milanović, who is also a member of the Advisory Council on Innovation for Non-communicable Diseases of the WHO Regional Director for Europe.
The Advisory Council on Innovation for Non-communicable Diseases of the WHO Regional Director for Europe launched an innovative initiative, a network of First Ladies and Gentlemen, in order to raise this issue to a higher level. “With that in mind, I am grateful and proud that, as First Lady, I can use the opportunity to announce the holding of the Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen, which is planned to be held next year in Croatia. I believe that a Summit of this kind will be a unique occasion to mobilize support and resources in order to encourage greater engagement, innovative solutions and to give room to new voices and ideas. I look forward to being a link in our joint efforts towards preventing childhood obesity,” concluded Prof. Dr. Sanja Musić Milanović.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / WHO