The spouse of the President Sanja Musić Milanović and the spouse of the Slovenian President Aleš Musar visited a paediatric clinic in Ljubljana to highlight the importance of preventing obesity in children
The spouse of the President of the Republic of Croatia, Prof. Dr. Sanja Musić Milanović, accompanied the President of the Republic of Croatia, Zoran Milanović, on an official visit to the Republic of Slovenia. During their official stay in Slovenia, the spouse of the President, Prof. Dr. Sanja Musić Milanović, and the husband of the Slovenian President, Dr. Aleš Musar, visited the Paediatric Clinic in Ljubljana.
During the working visit to the Clinic, the extent of the problem of childhood obesity both in Croatia and Slovenia, and throughout Europe was discussed. The importance of preventing childhood obesity for preserving the health of the entire population, as well the importance of a comprehensive approach to obesity prevention was stressed. Special emphasis was on monitoring and implementing the guidelines/recommendations of the Zagreb Declaration.
As a member of the Expert Advisory Council of the Regional Director of the World Health Organization for Europe in the field of prevention of chronic non-communicable diseases, a special Working Group on the Prevention of Obesity in Children, Prof. Dr. Sanja Musić Milanović emphasized that the Zagreb Summit clearly showed that obesity knows no borders and that childhood obesity is a common problem that must be jointly addressed at the European level, involving multiple social sectors.
As a reminder, the Zagreb Summit was held on 10 May 2023 and brought together relevant stakeholders from all over Europe, and jointly set priorities in the field of obesity prevention from an early age. The Summit was addressed by 16 spouses of European leaders, including the husband of the President of Slovenia, Aleš Musar. The participants jointly launched the Childhood Obesity Prevention Network and, at the same time, supporting the Zagreb Declaration, laid the foundations for coordinated action and began concrete activities in the field of childhood obesity prevention.
After visiting the Clinic, Prof. Dr. Sanja Musić Milanović highlighted the excellent cooperation with Aleš Musar in this area and indicated that she was extremely pleased that Slovenia had recognized the main messages of the Zagreb Declaration and had resolutely started working on this issue. Following the Zagreb Summit, Slovenia had developed its own list of policy recommendations and adapted them to its national context based on the recommendations from the Zagreb Declaration. She also drew attention to the importance of international exchange of experiences and examples of good practice and warned that obesity as a global public health challenge knows no borders.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Tomislav Bušljeta