13 EODY officials resign en masse – What Georgiadis says

The implementation of the new administrative structure at EODY, which was activated a few months ago by the Ministry of Health, appears to have created a climate of intense tensions within the organization.

Specifically, according to information from NEWS 24/7, repeated disagreements were recorded between the members of the Scientific Council—until recently chaired by Professor Christos Hadjichristodoulou—and the current Chief Executive Officer, Panos Efstathiou.

EODY: What the outgoing Board of Directors points out

Sources from the Board of Directors state that EODY is now operating on a more stable basis following the interventions implemented in recent years aimed at strengthening its structure and capabilities in the field of public health.

In a related post, the Director General of Public Health, Dimitris Hatzigeorgiou, presented a brief review of the past two years, noting that the period was marked both by significant challenges and by interventions aimed at upgrading the organization.

As he stated, EODY managed critical events, including the health impacts of the Daniel and Elias floods in Thessaly.

At the same time, national action plans were developed for antimicrobial resistance, tuberculosis, avian influenza, and the West Nile virus, while vaccination against mpox was organized in six vaccination centers.

At the institutional level, an operational framework for EODY was created for the first time in 32 years, while 16 modernization projects were approved with funding from the Recovery Fund.

During the same period, the organization was strengthened with additional personnel and equipment. The Central Public Health Laboratory regained its accreditation after seven years, and regional laboratories that had remained closed were reopened.

At the same time, new digital tools for epidemiological surveillance were developed, the mandatory disease reporting system was revised, and an open-source surveillance unit was created. In the field of prevention, the role of KOMY units was redefined as mobile primary healthcare units, while sexual health offices were established in various regions of the country.

Mr. Hatzigeorgiou stressed that the work of the organization relied primarily on EODY employees across the country, who—he noted—constitute the core force of public health.

Concluding his review, he stated that he is leaving with satisfaction for what has been accomplished, but also with the usual feeling that some initiatives could not be completed, noting that strengthening public health institutions requires time and consistency.

Adonis Georgiadis’ statements on EODY

Speaking on Monday morning to Action24, the Minister of Health Adonis Georgiadis presented his own narrative, denying that the departure was related to disagreements.

“A difficult situation has occurred there. There is indeed a resignation, but not due to disagreements, as we had resolved those issues a month ago,” he said.

According to him, a decisive role in the development of the case was played by an incident between the president of the Scientific Council, Christos Hadjichristodoulou, and an employee.

“There was an incident between the president and an employee, and accusations have been made by both sides. He could not continue his presence at EODY under these conditions. They will resolve it in court; I do not want to be further involved in this process,” the minister stated.

At the same time, Adonis Georgiadis thanked the administration for its cooperation so far, noting that both Mr. Hadjichristodoulou and the Board of Directors contributed positively to the operation of the organization.

“Mr. Hadjichristodoulou and the Board had worked well for EODY and I want to thank them. I was not present at the incident that occurred with the employee,” he said.

The Minister of Health also referred to the political reactions triggered by the case, commenting that opposition parties attempted to attribute responsibility to him for the developments.

“Some opposition parties came out trying to seize the opportunity to accuse Georgiadis, because as everyone knows in Greece, whenever something goes wrong, it is Georgiadis’ fault,” he said characteristically.

Members of the EODY Scientific Council who resigned

Christos Hadjichristodoulou – President of the EODY Scientific Council
Dimitris Hatzigeorgiou – Vice President of the EODY Scientific Council
Maria Pirounaki – Regular member
Christos Papatheodorou – Regular member
Dimitris Paraskevis – Regular member
Vasiliki Papaevangelou – Regular member
Emmanouil Roilidis – Regular member
Evangelia Nena – Alternate member
Antonios Vasilogiannakopoulos – Alternate member
Antonios Michailakis – Alternate member
Lemonia Skoura – Alternate member
Emmanouil Symvoulakis – Alternate member
Christos Kontovounisios – Alternate member