(L-R) Martine Deprez, Luxembourg's Minister of Health and Social Security; Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization;
Credit: M3S
On Wednesday 28 October 2026, Luxembourg's Ministry of Health and Social Security reported that Minister of Health and Social Security Martine Deprez had participated in the 76th session of the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Committee for Europe in Copenhagen on Tuesday 27 October 2026.
According to the ministry, the session brought together the 53 Member States of the Region. As outgoing President, Martine Deprez opened the session and chaired the election of the President of the 76th session, Dr Alma Möller, an Icelandic national.
During the general debate, Luxembourg recalled that extreme weather events, conflicts, non-communicable diseases and the loss of trust in science and public health institutions make international cooperation more essential than ever. It acknowledged that WHO/Europe needed to set clear priorities in the face of its budgetary constraints, while highlighting the impact of staff reductions. Luxembourg also called for expertise, institutional memory and sustainable workloads to be preserved.
Regarding the global health architecture, Luxembourg called for reducing fragmentation and better distributing roles among stakeholders, without creating new coordination or reporting mechanisms, and while respecting countries' sovereignty and national priorities. Regarding artificial intelligence, it was also recalled that innovation is not an end in itself. Applications in healthcare must meet the needs of patients and professionals, have demonstrated their usefulness, safety and impact, and comply with ethical and regulatory frameworks.
A high-level information session was devoted to primary healthcare, ahead of the 50th anniversary of the Alma-Ata Declaration in 2028.
