Event highlights
WHO launched the Community Health Centre Ljubljana as a WHO Collaborating Centre on Family Medicine Development on 12 March 2026, following its designation in January.
The designation is valid until January 2030 and recognizes Slovenia’s long-standing leadership in strengthening primary health care through high-quality family medicine, nursing and team-based service delivery.
The launch brought together representatives of the Ministry of Health, the Major of Ljubljana, the leadership and staff of the Community Health Centre Ljubljana, academic and professional partners, and WHO representatives.
The Collaborating Centre has two heads: Professor Antonija Poplas Susič, Director, and Dr Eva Vodnik, Medical Director.
“We are honoured to become part of the WHO collaborating centres network and to support its programme at the national, regional and global levels. This designation is proof that WHO has recognized our team‑based work and integrated model of care, including all newly implemented approaches and tools that contribute to population health. It has also recognized that we have the capacity to share and disseminate this knowledge,” said Professor Susič, stressing the significance of the designation for the institution.
Family medicine is the foundation of primary health care. It is family doctors and nurses who provide first-contact access, continuity of care, comprehensive services, prevention and health promotion, and coordination across levels of care.
As countries face ageing populations, rising multimorbidity and growing mental health and social needs, strong family medicine and nursing remain essential to ensure integrated, people-centred care and resilient health systems.
“Slovenia is among the leading countries in family medicine development, both in education and training and in implementing service delivery models in practice, thanks to the great support from the Ministry of Health,” said Dr Melitta Jakab, Head of the WHO European Centre for Primary Health Care.
“The Community Health Centre Ljubljana brings practical and system-level experience to the network: multidisciplinary teamwork, community orientation, and strong links between education and practice,” added Dr Jakab.
A results-oriented plan for 2026–2030
As part of WHO’s global network of more than 800 collaborating centres in over 80 countries, the Community Health Centre Ljubljana will deliver a time-bound workplan aligned with WHO priorities, focused on practical outputs to support Member States.
The plan also entails a specific subregional focus, particularly on the Western Balkans and south-eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia.
“Being designated as a WHO collaborating centre is not only a recognition of excellence; it is a commitment,” said Dr Gian Matteo Apuzzo, Technical Officer at the WHO European Centre for Primary Health Care and WHO/Europe responsible officer for the collaborating centre.
“Today’s event marks more than a formal designation. It marks the start of a concrete, results-oriented collaboration that will produce high-visibility outputs that countries can use,” Dr Apuzzo added.
Key planned deliverables include an annual international capacity-building course on family medicine, a WHO case study on primary health care in Slovenia, and an international community of practice in primary health care.
Strengthening capacity and quality
The Community Health Centre Ljubljana will focus on strengthening leadership, organizational and analytical competencies in primary health care, and on empowering multidisciplinary teams to develop sustainable, person-centred models of care.
“Our aim is to strengthen the role of family medicine as the core discipline of primary health care, promote teamwork and interdisciplinary collaboration, and support countries in developing family medicine in their primary health care reforms,” said Dr Vodnik.
“The benefit of the designation is twofold: contributing to international learning while also raising standards at home through quality, systematic work and long-term stability in primary health care development,” said Professor Zalika Klemenc Ketiš, Head of the Institute for Research and Development of Primary Health Care at the Centre.
“This reinforces Slovenia’s role as a reference point for other countries working to strengthen primary health care. In recent years, Slovenia has hosted study visits from many countries – including, most recently, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary and Tajikistan – reflecting the growing demand for practical experience in team-based, community-oriented primary care,” explained Dr Uldis Mitenbergs, Head of the WHO Country Office in Slovenia.
With the launch of the new collaborating centre, WHO/Europe and Slovenia expand a partnership designed to turn expertise into actionable support – helping countries strengthen the foundations of primary health care and accelerate progress towards integrated, people-centred health systems.