Health Minister Azir Aliu Announces Year‑One Reforms in North Macedonia

Minister of Health Azir Aliu marked the first anniversary of his tenure by outlining a comprehensive reform agenda for North Macedonia’s health system. He said the past year focused on tackling inherited weaknesses – uneven service access, staff shortages, outdated infrastructure and paper‑based processes – by launching a digital transformation that links patient data across institutions, introduces transparent waiting‑list registers and expands telemedicine services in Debar and Delčevo.

Aliu highlighted a policy of regionalisation, directing new investments to hospitals and health centres in Štip, Tetovo, Kičevo, Strumica, Bitola and other locations, and adding 100 ambulatory vehicles to improve access outside the capital. He also underscored measures to strengthen the health workforce through better staffing plans, specialised training programmes and improved remuneration, as well as proposed legislation to protect citizens from tobacco‑related products. Ongoing work includes reforms in oncology, organ donation, transplantation, pediatric obesity treatment and emergency protocols, aiming to build a health system that prevents crises rather than merely reacting to them.