The plenary session of the Conference was opened by Chairperson of the IPA CIS Council, Speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Valentina Matvienko. Valentina Matvienko emphasized that an open dialogue between the WHO Regional Office for Europe and the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly could serve as a good example of combining the international. She also expressed confidence that such joint events with the participation of MPs would yield practical results. Director of the WHO Regional Office for Europe Hans Kluge agreed with Valentina Matvienko and added that investing in health is investing in economic growth, environmental protection, reducing poverty and promoting equity. He also stated that health and well-being were the ultimate driving force of the economic, social and environmental aspects of the Sustainable Development Goals.

ECHD presented its work devoted to the harmonization of the legal space in the Commonwealth of Independent States and shared with the participants its current projects: draft model laws «On insurance of professional liability of medical workers» and «On drug supply in CIS member states».

In this regard, the Conference participants called on parliaments and MPs to take all possible legislative measures to help governments achieve UHC by 2030 and provide quality, affordable and physically accessible medical care, as well as create a reliable and transparent legislative framework for regulating response mechanism in the field of health emergencies.

The outcomes of the event were announced at the final plenary session. The Final Declaration noted the special importance of ensuring Universal Health Coverage (UHC) during the COVID-19 pandemic to overcome the spread of the disease and its consequences, and also recognized the important role of parliaments and MPs in advancing the UHC agenda.