ZENICA, MARCH 17 (ONASA) – The Institute for Health and Food Safety in Zenica organized a day-long conference where the results, activities, problems and challenges encountered by the organized screening for early detection of breast changes were presented.
The project is led by INZ with the help of partners from ZDK and Italy, and is being implemented as a model for future, possible similar activity throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The program began with addresses to the media, followed by an official conference, where the Prime Minister and Minister of Health in the Government of the Zenica-Doboj Canton, Amra Mehmedić and Tanja Radoš-Kosić, Director of the INZ Senad Huseinagić, Regional Minister for Decentralized International Cooperation in the Republic spoke Italy Maurizio Marrone, director of the Zenica Cantonal Hospital Tarik Zulović, Maurizio Marrone, regional minister for decentralized international cooperation of the Republic of Italy.
Stefania Vizzoccaro, director of the Office for the Western Balkans in AICS, the Italian Agency for Cooperation and Development, Manuela Vinay, director of the Office Otto per mille – Tavola Valdese, and Matteo Evangelista addressed the gathering. Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of Italy in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In the professional part of the program, Selvedina Sarajlić-Spahić, head of the Department for Quality, Projects and Health Promotion at INZ, Sead Begagić, expert associate for technical support and data analysis at INZ, Kasim Spahić, spoke about the project itself, challenges and problems. assistant director of the KBZ for medical affairs, and Luigi Genesio Icardi, regional minister of health in the Italian region of Piedmont.
As part of the second, final Conference, the Protocol on cooperation between the Italian region of Piedmont and the Canton of Zenica-Doboj was signed. The protocol was signed by ZDK Prime Minister Mehmedić and Maurizio Marrone, regional minister for decentralized international cooperation of the Piedmont Region, and the signing was witnessed by the regional health minister of the Italian region Luigi Genesio Icardi.
This signature continues the institutional cooperation and partnership with the Region of Piemonte, which has been a friend of ZDK since 1995.
the Italian Agency for Cooperation and Development, as it was pointed out, invested 16 million euros for this purpose in the past years across Bosnia and Herzegovina, and this year it decided to allocate an additional four million euros. Italian partners have repeatedly emphasized that they strongly support BiH on its path to integration into the European Union.
As part of this project, a software-monitored system of calling women aged 50 to 69 years, examinations for suspicion of breast cancer with double reading of BH was developed. and Italian doctors, follow-up of the “case” through subsequent medical institutions, and re-inviting for an examination, if the findings are correct, in two years.
Doctors from ZDK were trained in Italy, equipment was purchased together, and one of the results was four times more breast cancer detected than with previous methods.
In the second part of the day, four panel discussions of experts involved in the project were held. In the first panel, medical radiology engineers Franca Artuso (University Hospital Citta’ della salute e della scienza Turin), and representatives of local mammography screening centers Dino Kamarić (DZ Visoko), Kenan Imamović (DZ Zavidovići), Bekir Prasko (DZ Žepče) spoke. , and Sabahudin Hadžan (OB Tešanj).
The second panel consisted of doctors specializing in radiological diagnostics Vincenzo Marra (University Hospital Citta’ della salute e della scienza Turin), and Amira Hadžić (DZ Zavidovići), Sanja Čišić-Kovačević (KB Zenica), Nudžejma Salihbegović (KB Zenica) and Zerina Halilović (OB Tešanj).
The third discussion was led by specialist doctors Harun Drljević (KB Zenica), Kanita Pojskić-Ramani (KB Zenica), Halida Hakić-Bešlagić (OB Tešanj), Alma Mekić Abazović (KB Zenica) and Ibrahim Šišić (KB Zenica).
At the end, the fourth panel discussion was led by Nela Hasić (Association with Zajedno smo jedno – Think Pink BiH-Sarajevo), Dijana Jerković (Association Život Zenica), Lejla Ekinović (Police Directorate MUP ZDK) ) and Elma Kuduzović, head of the INZ Promotion Department, who moderated the day-long gathering.
At the end, Luca Giliberti addressed all those present on behalf of RE.TE, the non-governmental Italian association of technicians for solidarity international cooperation, which has been cooperating with INZ for more than three years. At the end of the meeting, the ZDK government and the representatives of the Italian agency presented certificates of appreciation to the representatives of all the organizations involved in the project.
Two separate workshops were then held. At the first, health professionals from the entire Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina gave an expert review of the organized screening program, while at the second, direct participants spoke about the technical and administrative assumptions for expanding preventive examinations to other areas in Bosnia and Herzegovina. INZ announced.