A national policy dialogue on preventing adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) was held in Belgrade, Serbia on 14 July 2015, hosted by the City Institute of Public Health of Belgrade, the Ministry of Health and WHO. Around 40 participants attended, representing the ministries of health, labour and social welfare, education, interior, and justice; the Public Prosecutor's Office; the Ombudsman; the Institute of Public Health of Serbia; civil-society organizations; and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Dr Dusanka Matijevic, Director of the City Institute of Public Health, welcomed participants to the workshop and highlighted the long tradition of violence and injury prevention at the Institute, including preventive programmes on child maltreatment such as home visitation. This was followed by Dr Miljana Grbic, Head of WHO Country Office in Serbia, who emphasized the large burden placed on health systems and society at large due to the negative consequences of ACEs and the importance of preventing them. This could be properly addressed through a coordinated, whole-of-government response aimed at prevention, in keeping with Health 2020.
[For more of this story go to http://www.euro.who.int/en/cou...xperiences-in-serbia]
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