Photo: Eitvydas Kinaitis
Dr. Aleš Musar attended the international summit “Growing Europe 2025” in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, at the invitation of the First Lady of Lithuania, Diana Nausėdienė
The summit focused on the demographic future of Europe, particularly in the context of care for prematurely born infants and newborns in the earliest stages of their lives.
Vilnius, Lithuania, 17 Nov 2025
It was organized exactly on the day which has, starting this year, officially become World Prematurity Day. The World Health Assembly included this date in the WHO international calendar, after non-governmental organizations had been raising awareness about issues of premature birth on this day since 2008.
Participants of the summit, among them numerous representatives of governments, international and non-governmental organizations, were welcomed by the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister of Lithuania, Inga Ruginienė and Kęstutis Budrys. In addition to the OECD Secretary-General and the WHO representative, the high-level gathering was addressed by the spouses of seven heads of state. Dr. Musar presented the achievements of the Slovenian healthcare system in caring for pregnant women, premature infants, and other newborns, which places Slovenia among the leading countries in newborn survival rates. He also highlighted the recently introduced screening for more than 50 rare diseases, which lays a foundation for healthy childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.
The First Ladies of Albania, Serbia, Lithuania, and Dr. Musar, who were greeted by the President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nausėda, jointly visited the University Centre for Intensive Care of Premature Infants. In the evening session of the summit, non-governmental organizations presented a call for international cooperation that would enable every prematurely born child to have a healthy start in life.
The day after the international summit, the spouse of the President of the Republic, together with the First Lady of Lithuania, visited the Life Sciences Center at Vilnius University and learned about its study programs, research work, and the transfer of scientific results into practice, particularly through the establishment of young start-up companies.
