As part of the EU’s continued support for healthcare institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina to fight the Covid-19 pandemic and its consequences, another set of deliveries took place over the past two weeks consisting of 35 ECG monitors and one PCR device. The donations were carried out as part of an EU-funded project worth 7.7 million euros aiming to provide health institutions across Bosnia and Herzegovina with much needed medical equipment.
The ECG machines will be important for doctors investigating and treating heart conditions, while the PCR device will help fast sampling of Covid-19 tests. While Covid-19 is primarily known as a disease which affects the lungs, it also has been shown to damage other organs, including the heart. As a result, healthcare institutions require a wide range of different equipment.
To this end, in cooperation with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) the EU has supplied hospitals and other medical facilities in Bosnia and Herzegovina with ventilators, X-ray machines, ultrasound devices and other medical equipment, including ECGs and PCR devices.
The value of the ECG monitors is BAM 232,750, while the PCR device is worth BAM 75,800. The 35 ECGs were provided to healthcare institutions in Mostar, Livno, Trebinje, Gradiška, Nova Bila, Travnik, Sarajevo and East Sarajevo, Zenica, Goražde, West Herzegovina Canton, Posavina Canton, Tuzla Canton and Brčko District of BiH.
Global cooperation and solidarity is crucial to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, ensure early access to vaccines, diagnostics and treatments everywhere, and start a sustainable global recovery. The EU is playing its part fully and has been leading the multilateral response. The EU, acting also under the Team Europe banner, which combines EU and individual member state actions, has mobilised a global recovery package to help its partners across the world, including BiH, address the immediate health emergency and humanitarian needs, strengthen health systems and support the economic recovery and social protection.
Team Europe is also setting up a vaccine sharing mechanism and has started to provide some initial doses secured under the EU’s advance purchase agreements directly to partner countries. In BiH this has been enabled through an EU4Heath project worth 13.7 million euros.
