Content created by Office of Global Affairs (OGA)
Contact:
Peter Schmeissner
Director, Office of Europe-Eurasia
Office of Global Affairs
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
Phone: (202) 690-6174, (202)-260-0399
Email: globalhealth@hhs.gov
The Office of Europe and Eurasia, G7, and G20 (E/E) builds and maintains partnerships with countries in the Europe and Eurasia region to advance U.S. health priorities. We foster research collaboration for faster scientific advancements, represent U.S. interests in multilateral organizations, and lend expertise to strengthen our combined efforts. From the prevention of non-communicable diseases to establishing strong disease detection and response infrastructures, the U.S and European/Eurasian countries benefit greatly from an ongoing exchange of information, ideas, expertise, and resources to improve the health of our nations. E/E also oversees the work of the health tracks of the Group of Seven (G7) and Group of Twenty (G20) countries.
Examples of Our Work
- The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD): The OECD is comprised of 34 member countries that share a commitment to democratic governance and market economics. The OECD Health Committee actively covers issues relating to costs and efficiencies of health care systems. Studies often cover data and details from a sampling of OECD countries. When feasible, the U.S. works with OECD to present details of the U.S. health care system and to encourage results and recommendations that also are applicable to the U.S.. The Health Committee also covers health topics such as the impact of aging populations on societies and health care systems, incentivizing research on and the development of new antibiotics, and the use of expanded data sets (from health IT and from patient-centered care models) to determine efficiencies of care. The E/E team coordinates Departmental policies related to health and human services at OECD, and is the U.S. lead on the Health Committee.
- The Arctic: HHS activities are a key component of the National Strategy for the Arctic Region, which sets forth the USG’s priorities for the Arctic. OGA contributes by working through its Office of Europe and Eurasia (E/E), which represents HHS on the Arctic Council, in the White House-led Arctic Executive Steering Committee (AESC), and other interagency and multilateral fora. E/E coordinates with HHS Operating and Staff Divisions to quickly and accurately respond to data requests and identify points of contact and subject matter experts leading state and local activities in the Arctic. E/E also works to enable OP/STAFF Divisions to share details of their work by coordinating quarterly HHS Arctic Working Group calls. We also work closely with interagency colleagues from the Department of State, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Interior, and Department of Agriculture to harmonize and promote health priorities for the U.S. Chairmanship of the Arctic Council.