Corruption and inadequate conditions in maternity hospitals are topics that more and more non-governmental organizations in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) are dealing with.
About 50 percent of births in BiH involved corruption, which consisted of giving money or expensive gifts to medical staff, according to a survey published last year by the Sarajevo-based Association Baby Steps.
Despite the fact that it is a young association, formed in 2017, its members are determined in the fight to reduce corruption and improve conditions in maternity hospitals throughout BiH.
“The mother is the user and she is the one who should leave the maternity hospital satisfied. We have very bad conditions, very great dissatisfaction, we have a lot of violations of maternity rights, we have literal violence in maternity hospitals where sometimes I can’t even convey all the words that were said to mothers because I am ashamed to say them, ” said Amila Tatarevic, president of the association.
In hospital waiting rooms, a common topic is how much money should be “put in an envelope”. This creates great inequality and discrimination among mothers, and a service that has already been paid for through the health insurance system is paid again,” explains Tataravic.
The statistical data obtained by this association show that the value of an envelope or an expensive gift given to medical staff in maternity hospitals averages about 140 BAM. Taking into account that we have about 30.000 births a year in BiH and that half of the births include corrupt practices, we come to the conclusion that huge amounts of money go through this crime.
At the beginning of the project “Fight against corruption in maternity hospitals”, the association sent letters to institutions and line ministries asking about anti-corruption actions they are taking, and whether they record reports of corruption.
“A large number of them completely ignored our demands, despite the fact that we invoked the Freedom of Access to Information Act, so they were obliged to answer, but they did not provide us with any answers, even after the insistence.”
However, cooperation has so far been agreed with two maternity hospitals – in the General Hospital “Prim. Dr. Abdulah Nakas” Sarajevo and with the maternity hospital of the Clinical University Center in Banja Luka. The first activity proposed by Baby Steps to maternity hospitals is the introduction of electronic corruption reporting.
