The study, titled ‘Excess all-cause mortality by age and sex during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina: 2020–2022’, was published in the journal Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses.
The study analyzes all-cause mortality data from 2020 to 2022 in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) and indicates the real impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting that mortality was significantly higher than officially reported COVID-19 deaths, including among younger people and adults.
The study was conducted by a group of domestic and international experts from the Institute of Public Health of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Federal Institute of Statistics, the World Health Organization, and the EuroMOMO Center at the Statens Serum Institut in Denmark. It is estimated that around 12,000 excess deaths were recorded over the three-year period – almost 20 percent more than the expected mortality rate.
“The most pronounced excess mortality was recorded in 2021, when the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant was spreading rapidly. During that period, the number of deaths was more than 30 percent higher than expected. Excess mortality was highest among people aged 45 to 74 and significantly higher among men. In contrast, no excess mortality was recorded among children under 15 years of age,” it is stated.
The World Health Organization’s Special Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dr. Erwin Cooreman, said that the results of the study highlight the profound impact of COVID-19 on public health in the country, indicating the need to strengthen surveillance and preparedness systems.
The study also calls for a detailed analysis of the direct and indirect effects of COVID-19 on mortality to shape future health policies and ensure better resource management in response to future pandemics and health crises.
“Strengthening the registration system and establishing reliable surveillance of all-cause mortality are key steps for better monitoring of future pandemics and public health events,” emphasized Dr. Šeila Cilović-Lagarija, lead author of the study.
The importance of timely and widely available public health measures, including vaccination, in reducing the number of preventable deaths was also highlighted.
”The authors of the study are Šeila Cilović-Lagarija, Johanna Thea Mølgaard Rantzau, Siniša Skočibušić, Sanjin Musa, Armin Sprečo, Amna Isaković, Mirza Palo, Faris Dizdar, Hidajeta Čolović, Veronica Ivey Sawin, Jens Nielsen and Pernille Jorgensen. The study was co-funded by the European Union,”the World Health Organization Office in BiH announced.
