BIHAĆ, FEBRUARY 2 (ONASA) – Head of the Delegation of the European Union in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ambassador Johann Sattler and director of the Cantonal Hospital “Dr. Irfan Ljubijankić” Bihać Hajrudin Havić officially opened the renovated Children’s Surgery Department in Bihać today with a ceremonial ribbon cutting.
On that occasion, it was pointed out that the Una-Sana Canton was and remains the focus of all the efforts of the European Union in BiH, because it was observed that it was going in the right direction.
Sattler said that he was glad to be back in Bihać, and he recalled the bad state of that department and added that immediately after they saw that state, they went from “words to deeds”.
– This morning I met with the Prime Minister and the ministers, and discussed the subject of the implementation of reforms, the close cooperation of the Office for the fight against corruption and the general progress that has been observed, and we are here to support it. We want to provide even more help and support progress in the social sector, improvement of work and conditions in the health sector, and additionally improve the conditions that will attract an even greater number of tourists to this canton, and of course to have a functional Office for the fight against corruption that will to be able to perform its basic function – emphasized Sattler.
He pointed out that the canton is under a heavy burden in terms of migration management, and he thanked the authorities, especially the citizens of the Una-Sana canton who showed “one big heart and exceptional humanity in treating all persons who are on the move”.
– We still continue to provide financial support for this, and one such example is the funds provided for the area of social cohesion, and we have budgeted funds of some three million euros. These are activities that are carried out in parallel with migration measures such as Camp Lipa and other facilities and locations. Therefore, we are working on social cohesion and that is why the reconstruction of the Children’s Surgery Department is one of the important elements of that social cohesion – said Ambassador Sattler.
That the project of reconstruction of children’s surgery is extremely important for the Cantonal Hospital “Dr. Irfan Ljubijankić” in Bihać, the fact that that department has been in some kind of emigration for six years, and moves from one location to another, which greatly complicates their normal work and functioning.
– We will finally manage to separate children’s surgery from adult surgery and finally get quality space so that we can raise children’s health care to a higher level – said the director of the Cantonal Hospital, dr. Havic.
In addition to Ambassador Johann Sattler, Head of the Delegation of the European Union in BiH, the opening ceremony of the Department of Children’s Surgery was also attended by the Head of Mission of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in BiH, Laura Lungarotti, who pointed out that this is a very significant moment for IOM in BiH because it will children of migrants passing through Bosnia and Herzegovina also receive health care and assistance in this department.
– I want to remind you that 10 percent of all migrants passing through BiH are actually children, and this department will provide health care services to those children, as well as to the children of the local population. About 240,000 KM were invested in the reconstruction and equipment for the department was also donated. This is part of a larger social cohesion project that is being implemented in the Una-Sana Canton, where 1.7 million KM have been invested so far in the past few years for social cohesion activities in the Una-Sana Canton, and this includes the construction of children’s playgrounds, road infrastructure and similar projects – pointed out Lungarotti.
On behalf of the Federal Ministry of Health, the ceremony was attended by Goran Čerkez, who pointed out that in the past seven days, the European Commission opened two services intended for children – one in Sarajevo, and the one that opened today in Bihać, which it supported financially, and he emphasized that investing in children is a pledge for the future.
– We at the International Organization for Migration often look at a partner related to migration. However, thanks to the IOM, I will remind you that in this canton, great progress has been made in the health sector and that many health institutions have been renovated and equipment donated to them. Therefore, it is a pleasure to work with such partners as the European Union and the IOM, and we will continue to cooperate in the future, both in this canton and in other cantons in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina – said Čerkez.