When we hear the word suicide, many of us instinctively recoil. The word is taboo in everyday life.  For family members who have lost somebody to suicide, this stigma can make grieving even more complex.  People may struggle to explain the loss and how they feel about it to friends, colleagues, and other family members. 

But how do you explain suicide to a young child?  What words should you use? How do you support them? 

In June 2024, Ireland's National Office for Suicide Prevention published an illustrated children's book called Safe Harbour, to help parents and carers talk to children bereaved by suicide. 

The book, written by Patricia Ford and illustrated by Bronna Lee, encapsulates much of what suicide bereavement is about, navigating a world that is both completely new and oddly normal.  For this episode of Health in Europe, we are looking at suicide bereavement with Safe Harbour as our compass.

DOWNLOAD SAFE HARBOUR:
You can download the book and its resources at https://www.childhoodbereavement.ie/safeharbour 

PLEASE NOTE:

This episode of Health in Europe covers the theme of suicide and contains an account of suicide bereavement. If you are thinking of ending your life, please reach out to family and friends or to a local suicide helpline. If you are unsure of helplines in your area, please visit: https://findahelpline.com 

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This episode of Health In Europe was originally published in August 2025.

To find out further about any of the subjects covered in the Health In Europe podcast, visit our website: https://www.who.int/europe/

When we talk about alcohol at WHO, we often start with the evidence. Today, we're starting with people's experiences.

Aleksandra Olsen works on communications about alcohol and health here at WHO Regional Office for Europe.  At WHO, it is common that we will talk about units, thresholds and risk.  Today, Aleks put all of the statistics aside and invited three women in for a conversation.

Mia, who is 34 and has stage 4 breast cancer.  Hazel, a journalist, and in the past has experienced alcohol related liver disease.  And Millie, who is the founder of Sober Girl Society, which is for sober and sober-curious women.    

Millie puts it this way: there is a lot we could be doing about alcohol that we are not.  Conversations we could be having.  

This is one of them.

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Show notes/links

WHO Regional Office for Europe: https://www.who.int/europe

Alcohol use (from the WHO website): https://www.who.int/europe/news-room/fact-sheets/item/alcohol-use

No level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health: https://www.who.int/europe/news/item/04-01-2023-no-level-of-alcohol-consumption-is-safe-for-our-health

Podcasts: https://www.who.int/europe/multimedia-pages/podcasts

To find out further about any of the subjects covered in the Health In Europe podcast, visit our website: https://www.who.int/europe/

In the first episode of this mini-series, we've heard why WHO/Europe launched the Special Initiative on Violence Against Women and Girls. In the second, we spoke with UNFPA on how health systems can and are practically taking steps to help tackle gender based violence.

In this third episode of 'I believe you' we speak with Elisa Fernandez Saenz from UN Women Europe and Central Asia. We hear about Elisa's upbringing in Costa Rica, what led her to her work with UN Women, how important cooperation across sectors is to addressing gender inequality and much more.

I Believe You is a three-part mini series for WHO's Health In Europe. This is episode three. 

Listen to episode one: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1109867/episodes/19542850

Listen to episode two: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1109867/episodes/19569187 

To find out further about any of the subjects covered in the Health In Europe podcast, visit our website: https://www.who.int/europe/

Last episode on I Believe You, Dr. Hans Kluge set out why WHO Europe has made violence against women and girls one of its top priorities. This week, what that means in practice. 

When a woman or a girl walks into a clinic, that may be the only moment anyone has a chance to notice what is happening to her, whether the person in front of her is ready to understand that it can change everything.  

Melanie Hyde and Greg Bianchi spoke to Florence Bauer, who runs the UN Sexual and Reproductive Health Agency, UNFPA as Regional director across Eastern Europe and Central Asia. They talk about how that work connects to violence, about the abuse that has moved online, and got very much worse there. 

I Believe You is a three-part mini series for WHO's Health In Europe.  This is episode two. 

Listen to episode one: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1109867/episodes/19542850

To find out further about any of the subjects covered in the Health In Europe podcast, visit our website: https://www.who.int/europe/

What role does a health system play in protecting women and girls from violence? I Believe You is a new podcast mini-series from WHO's Health In Europe, under the Special Initiative on Violence Against Women and Girls. Throughout the series, we talk with leaders from WHO, UNFPA and UN Women to explore what role health systems play in protecting women and girls from violence and what more can be done to make societies safer.

In this first episode, we sit down with Dr Hans Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, to introduce the Special Initiative and discuss the complex challenges facing healthcare professionals on the front line of this issue.

Show notes/links

• WHO/Europe Special Initiative on Violence Against Women and Girls https://www.who.int/europe/initiatives/special-initiative-on-violence-against-women-and-girls-sivawg
• Care, courage, change: health-sector leadership in tackling violence against women and girls: https://www.who.int/europe/publications/i/item/WHO-EURO-2025-12846-52620-81536
• Second European Programme of Work (EPW2): https://www.who.int/europe/about-us/our-work/second-european-programme-of-work-2026-2030

To find out further about any of the subjects covered in the Health In Europe podcast, visit our website: https://www.who.int/europe/

What insights and lessons learned from the UN High Level Meeting on antimicrobial resistence last September can inform preparations for the upcoming UN High Level Meeting on non-communicable diseases? 

In this second episode of Intersections in Health, a podcast mini-series, we delve into #NCDs and #AMR common policy benefits and challenges with 

• Professor Dame Sally Davies, UK Special Envoy on AMR, former Chief Medical Officer for England and former member of the WHO Executive Board 2014-2016, and 
• Danilo Lo-Fo-Wong, WHO/Europe Regional Adviser and Programme Manager on the Control of Antimicrobial Resistance.

We discuss the deathly threat of AMR for people with non-communicable diseases such as cancer, health diplomacy, the critical roles of civil society organisations in policy, health and the arts and the value of stepping outside our disciplinary bubbles.

Tune in and share your feedback on the issues discussed. 

Please listen back to our previous episode exploring the intersections of NCDs and the triple planetary crisis and stay tuned for our final episode on NCDs and population ageing.

This short series is part of WHO/Europe’s count-down to the UN High Level Meeting on NCDs in September 2025. 

Hosted and produced by Maebh Ní Fhallúin 

Sound design and editing by David Barrett 

To find out further about any of the subjects covered in the Health In Europe podcast, visit our website: https://www.who.int/europe/

How can we address the intersecting challenges of climate change and non-communicable diseases at once? 

In this first episode of the Intersections in Health, a new short podcast mini series, we delve into NCDs and the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and toxic pollution with  

• Hans Bruyninckx , Commissioner on the Pan-European Commission on Climate and Health #PECCH, Professor of Environmental Governance at the University of Antwerp, former Executive Director of the European Environment Agency and 
• Sinaia Netanyahu , Programme Manager at WHO/Europe’s Centre for Environment and Health. 

We discuss attacks on science and #misinformation, the art of knowledge translation, communicating complexity and uncertainty, super wicked problems and system transformation. Crucially, we explore what this moment asks of each one of us and collectively. 

Tune in and give us your feedback on the issues discussed.  

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Our next episodes will explore the intersections of NCDs and anti-microbial resistance and NCDs and population ageing. 

This short series is part of WHO/Europe’s count-down to the UN High Level Meeting on NCDs in September 2025. 

To find out further about any of the subjects covered in the Health In Europe podcast, visit our website: https://www.who.int/europe/

Crisis and conflict dominate the headlines.  The ongoing war in Ukraine and the conflict between Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory have brought death, destruction and displacement.  But among the major disasters and conflicts. It's important to look for the stories of the people who are helping.  

As we mark over 5,000 medical evacuations from Ukraine, in this episode of Health in Europe, we'll share stories about some of the sick and injured people who have been transported away from war zones and other emergencies, and of their welcome, medical treatment, recovery and eventual repatriation.  

We'll also explore the Region's Emergency Medical Teams to learn about people who, with sometimes only hours notice, drop everything to travel to emergency zones. Who are they and what motivates them?  

To find out further about any of the subjects covered in the Health In Europe podcast, visit our website: https://www.who.int/europe/

Stories of strength and dedication to mark International Women’s Day

For International Women’s Day, we celebrate the achievements of three remarkable women working at the forefront of global health. Margaux Mesle, Ana Paula Coutinho Rehse and Harsh Lata work for the WHO Regional Office for Europe’s World Health Emergency programme (WHE) which sits at the centre of global coordination, preparation and response to disease outbreaks and emergencies. Their journeys into science, their challenges, and their advice for future generations are both inspiring and enlightening.

To find out further about any of the subjects covered in the Health In Europe podcast, visit our website: https://www.who.int/europe/

 When we hear the word suicide, many of us instinctively recoil. The word is taboo in everyday life.  For family members who have lost somebody to suicide, this stigma can make grieving even more complex.  People may struggle to explain the loss and how they feel about it to friends, colleagues, and other family members. 

But how do you explain suicide to a young child?  What words should you use? How do you support them? 

 In June 2024, Ireland's National Office for Suicide Prevention published an illustrated children's book called Safe Harbour, to help parents and carers talk to children bereaved by suicide. 

The book, written by Patricia Ford and illustrated by Bronna Lee, encapsulates much of what suicide bereavement is about, navigating a world that is both completely new and oddly normal.  For this episode of Health in Europe, we are looking at suicide bereavement with Safe Harbour as our compass.

DOWNLOAD SAFE HARBOUR:
You can download the book and its resources at https://www.childhoodbereavement.ie/safeharbour 

PLEASE NOTE:

This episode of Health in Europe covers the theme of suicide and contains an account of suicide bereavement. If you are thinking of ending your life, please reach out to family and friends or to a local suicide helpline. If you are unsure of helplines in your area, please visit: https://findahelpline.com 

To find out further about any of the subjects covered in the Health In Europe podcast, visit our website: https://www.who.int/europe/

In this turbulent world, it’s tempting to move on and forget the difficult days of COVID-19. Although the impact of the COVID pandemic is far-reaching, and for many, ongoing, as priorities shift, people are thinking less about the last pandemic or the possibility of another one. We risk falling into yet another cycle of panic and neglect. 

In episode 6 of Not If, But When, we ask, what are the challenges for the public health experts trying to apply the lessons of the last pandemic, and working to strengthen the global systems for preventing future ones?

We speak to Catherine Smallwood, former WHO Regional Office for Europe’s Senior Emergency Officer and Programme Manager (Emergency Operations), about the systems in place that guide health emergency preparedness and response.

We hear from Mike Ryan, Executive Director of WHO's Health Emergencies Programme, about why, despite increasing and overlapping emergencies, he’s optimistic that the world will find ways to work together to combat global threats.

To find out further about any of the subjects covered in the Health In Europe podcast, visit our website: https://www.who.int/europe/