On 3 and 4 August, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) officially handed over five containers for screening of patients for COVID-19 to the health care facilities in Bihać and Velika Kladuša. The Cantonal Hospital in Bihać received three containers, while the Primary Health Care Clinic of Bihać and Velika Kladuša received one container each.

This donation will help the health care system in Bihać and Velika Kladuša better perform the screening and triage of persons accessing these facilities, ultimately contributing to preventing the spread of COVID-19 among the citizens of Una Sana Canton.

The containers have been provided thanks to the support of the European Union through the project “Addressing COVID-19 Challenges within the Migrant and Refugee Response in the Western Balkans”. This project aims to support the Western Balkans partners to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on mobility as well as migration governance. The project recognizes the impact of the pandemic not only on migrants and refugees, but also on the health care systems of the communities hosting reception centres.

Within the project, Bihać Health Care Clinic had already received a donation of five containers in January 2021, after an earthquake damaged the building few days earlier.

Also, the project has so far provided around 260,000 pieces of personal protective equipment and over 11,000 litres of disinfectants to border and migration management authorities across the region. It helped over 12,000 workers in daily contact with travellers, migrants and asylum seekers, and contributed to containing COVID-19 infections among over 20,000 people on the move.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the project provided COVID-19 related protective and medical equipment to nine health care institutions in Sarajevo, Bihać, Tuzla and Mostar and ensured access to COVID-19 testing for all migrants and asylum seekers in temporary reception centres.