Natasha Azzopardi Muscat has recently attended the 15th EPH Conference held between 9th and 12th November in Berlin where she moderated a plenary session on financial protection, which she described as "a key issue in these challenging economic circumstances".

The theme of EPH 2022 was "Strengthening health systems: improving population health and being prepared for the unexpected." Dr Azzopardi Muscat described her participation at "Europe's largest public health meeting" as “an incredible experience”, where she was "proud to represent WHO Regional Office for Europe".

A qualified Medical Doctor, Dr Azzopardi Muscat joined WHO in February 2020 as a Senior Advisor for WHO EURO and has, since then, been promoted to Director of Country Health Policies and Systems.

Her previous positions include Consultant for Public Health Medicine and Senior Lecturer at the University of Malta, and Chief Medical Officer at the country’s Health Ministry.

At this year’s event Dr Azzopardi Muscat moderated the first plenary on financial protection, an issue she described as "key in these challenging economic circumstances." She also contributed to the last technical plenary, where she spoke "about bridging the public health and clinical health workforce to address the complex public health challenges we face.”

She also explained that several topics were handled during this session including, "the health workforce and digitalisation, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ukraine war and the deceleration in making progress towards the SDGs."

"Finally, it was a great opportunity to connect with old friends and celebrate 25 years of public health practice," Dr Azzopardi Muscat concluded.