Thanks to the latest report of the Office for Audit of Institutions in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH), information has reached the public that the Ministry of Health of the FBiH paid for the purchase of 800.000 COVID-19 vaccines in 2020, and only 218.510 doses arrived in our country.
Journalists checked why the vaccines were not fully delivered, what will be with the money paid, and whether a new affair is on the horizon.
The audit report on the work of the FBiH Ministry of Health for last year states the following:
In accordance with the Agreement on Mutual Rights and Obligations Regarding the Procurement of Vaccines through the Instrument for Global Access to Vaccines against Diseases COVID-19 (COVAX), the Ministry paid in advance in 2020 funds in the amount of 13.722.042 BAM for the purchase of 800.000 doses of vaccines, of which only 218.510 doses were delivered.
The FBiH Public Health Institute recalls that COVAX offered AstraZeneca vaccines, which have not been well received by BiH citizens since the beginning of the vaccination process.
Sinisa Skocibusic, Director of the FBiH Public Health Institutesaid:
”That is the reason why the entire quantity of 800.000 doses was not delivered, and that is why it is now at the level of the Government and the Ministry of Civil Affairs, but also the Government of Republika Srpska (RS) and Brcko District who are signatories to the agreement to decide how to proceed.”
The Ministry of Civil Affairs, which is one of the signatories of the contract with COVAX, points out that the COVAX mechanism is a complex structure that includes hundreds of countries with large orders for vaccines and that the delay in deliveries depends on the production capabilities of suppliers, and that this is a risk that all partners in the said mechanism face. The decision on further steps will be made by the ministry in cooperation with partners – health authorities in BiH.
A final decision on the above has not yet been made. All key partners in this process are extremely cooperative and we appreciate that there will be no need for permanent cessation of cooperation with COVAX, which as a form of cooperation between countries in the world in the field of immunization may be significant for all similar pandemics that may occur in the future.
For these reasons, additional efforts are being made to solve the problem of the current delay in vaccine deliveries in the most painless way for all contracting parties, with the possibility of remaining in BiH.
