Minister of Health, Michalis Damianos, and Deputy Minister of Health of Greece, Marios Themistocleous, signed an amending agreement in the field of Public Health, in Nicosia, on Monday, further strengthening the cooperation between the two countries.
“The original agreement was signed on June 27, 1987 and was revised in 2011 to meet the needs of the health sector at that time,” Damianos said after the signing ceremony.
Over time, he added, “the need to modernise and adapt to modern requirements became imperative, which led us to renegotiate and recognise the new amending agreement.”
“This agreement brings important provisions that will strengthen our cooperation with Greece on key issues concerning the health policy of both countries,” he noted.
Specifically, the Health Minister said, it includes strengthening the training of doctors in Cyprus through the recognition of residency and specialisation time by Greece, facilitating the awarding of relevant titles, ensuring the adequacy of medicines in both countries to address shortages, as well as enabling joint procurement where applicable, in addition to developing cooperation on all regulatory issues.
“The agreement is considered particularly important for the Republic of Cyprus, as it ensures the continuous upgrading of the health system, access to necessary resources and the strengthening of bilateral cooperation,” Damianos pointed out.
“It is worth noting that last September, we signed together with the Greek Health Minister Adonis Georgiades two important agreements in the field of transplantation. These agreements are aimed at enhancing cross-over kidney transplants and the general improvement of the two countries’ transplant programmes,” he added.
The Health Minister expressed his warm thanks for the close and constructive cooperation with Greece, which he called a foundation for the continued progress and strengthening of the health sector in both countries. “The above confirms the continued commitment of the governments of Cyprus and Greece to close and universal cooperation in all sectors,” he stressed.
In his statement, Themistocleous expressed his satisfaction with the signing of the amending agreement and thanked the Cypriot Government, the Ministry of Health and Minister Damianos personally, for the “excellent cooperation” they have enjoyed throughout this period.
“We are at a point, 5 years after the beginning of the pandemic, which showed in the clearest possible way that the health sector, the health systems have been tested and will continue to be tested by continuous challenges,” he said.
“We need the cooperation between all of us, we need the cooperation of countries, we the need cooperation at the European level, so that we can face the challenges, to increase both the resilience and the sustainability of health systems,” he added.
The cooperation between Greece and Cyprus, which also started with the Intergovernmental Summit a year ago in Athens, followed here in Cyprus, through the excellent cooperation with the Ministry of Health, Themistocleous continued.
“The first agreement in the field of transplants has been reached and we can already say that patients from both countries, Cyprus and Greece, have benefited and have received the gift of life, which is the opportunity to live with a very good quality of life,” he further noted.
Today, Themistocleous said, “we are signing a renewed agreement after many years in the field of training of specialist doctors and specialisations, as well as in a very difficult area of pharmaceutical policy which beyond the technocratic dimension aims to ensure to all citizens, all patients, access to medicines and innovative treatments, and that in cases of very difficult health problems the state, whether it is in Cyprus or in Greece, will be able to provide what the patients need at that time,” he added.
Asked to comment on warnings from the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) in relation to the increase in sexually transmitted diseases and concerns about the effectiveness of antibiotics, the Health Minister said that it is a matter for the medical services, which will look at it and act accordingly.
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Source: CNA
