Providing direct support to health authorities to strengthen health leadership is an important strand of WHO/Europe’s 5-year health agenda, the European Programme of Work (EPW). As part of these efforts, WHO/Europe is moving forward with plans to establish the Pan-European Transformational Leadership Academy.

The Academy will seek to:

• create a network of trained health professionals to support and advance the EPW through strengthened health systems;
• provide WHO/Europe with country-specific knowledge and deep insights into national administrations to make its work even more relevant to its Member States.

This initiative is a concrete example of the EPW in practice, working closely with countries to build capacity in designing, implementing and evaluating health policies and driving sustainable change, thus delivering “United Action for Better Health”.

“In the medium term, through the Academy, we also aim to build a future cadre of professionals with knowledge and experience of WHO and United Nations ways of working, thereby contributing to a better balance of geographical representation in WHO and other United Nations agencies,” said Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, in an article about the Academy published in this month’s issue of the European Journal of Public health.

When fully operational, the Academy will have three tiers:

• a capacity-building programme for young professionals from national administrations and public health institutions;
• a mid-level exchange programme for officials from national administrations;
• a twinning and peer-support programme between high-level decision-makers.

Two demonstration projects will be implemented in 2021, and evaluated and scaled up in 2022.