European Union donates new ambulance to Bihać Health Centre

The Health Centre in Bihać was handed over the keys to the new, modern equipped ambulance vehicle that will be used for emergency medical interventions and assistance in Una-Sana Canton.

In the past period, the Health Centre staff faced an increased number of medical interventions due to the presence of migrants in the temporary reception centres in Bihać. Therefore, European Union donated an ambulance vehicle that will improve the efficient work of the medical teams on field.

The cost of the vehicle is more than 65.000 KM and is donated within the project financed by the European Union to improve the capacities of Bosnia and Herzegovina to provide assistance to the migrants and refugees on the field and to improve the capacities of the country to manage the border.

The keys were handed over to the director of the Health Centre, Ms. Jasminka Ljubijankić by Mr. Dražan Rozić, IOM country emergency coordinator.

Ms. Ljubijankić expressed the significance that the donation of the modernly equipped ambulance will provide, not only for the migrants, refuges and the local community but for the medical staff as well.

“From the very beginning of the migration crisis, the Health Centre Bihac was involved in the primary health care of the migrants, and at no time did we neglect the health care of the local population. Since this new situation largely surpassed pur capacities, we contacted the Ministry of Health, as well as at the International Organization for Migration, and emphasized our real needs for functioning on the field. With the full support of the City Administration and the Ministry of Health, the International Organization for Migration has implemented a project for the purchase of a medical vehicle for the Health centre Bihac, donated by the European Union. Today, perhaps symbolically, exactly one year after our first field visit and providing assistance to a migrant, the International Organization for Migration handed over the keys of the ambulance. This is a significant donation for the Health Centre Bihać and will enable us to provide faster and better quality health care to both the local population and migrants. We are grateful for this donation and we are looking forward to good cooperation on future projects”, said Ms. Ljubijankić.

The project “EU Support to Migration and Border Management in BiH” is funded by the European Union in the amount of more than EUR 7.2 million, which are implemented by the IOM, in partnership with UNHCR and UNICEF.

Europa.ba