The Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Zoran Tegeltija, told yesterday that in September last year, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) sent an advance payment of 1.971.200 dollars for the procurement of vaccines through the “COVAX” mechanism.
Tegeltija explained that the Ministry of Civil Affairs in the Council of Ministers signed the Agreement with “COVAX” on September 18th, 2020 and that the advance was immediately paid according to that agreement.
“By paying the remaining funds up to the full amount of 12.997.600 dollars, BiH has remained equally involved in all upcoming activities of the ‘COVAX’ mechanism within which 1.232.000 doses of vaccines have been ordered,” stated Tegeltija at a session of the House of Representatives, responding to the interpellation by the groups of deputies regarding the response of the Council of Ministers to the crisis caused by the coronavirus.
He said that out of the total number of doses, the Federation of BiH (FBiH) ordered 800.000, Republika Srpska (RS) 400.000, and the Brcko District 32.000 doses. The average value of a dose of the vaccine is 10.55 dollars.
“The number of ordered doses is sufficient for vaccine coverage of 20% of the population, and it refers only to the first orders requested by the competent health institutions under the clear instructions of ‘COVAX’,” explained Tegeltija.
As he stated, every decision to restrict the movement of people during the pandemic faced a huge problem for foreign nationals in BiH, as well as a large number of people from BiH who had to stay in another country at ski resorts, airports, and the like.
“From then until the opening of the borders, 1.210 people had to be allowed to leave BiH or enter BiH in various ways, by special decisions,” Tegeltija pointed out.
He reminded that the biggest wave of the coronavirus appeared last year just before the Easter holidays and that even then difficult and important decisions were made, such as quarantine at border crossings.
“It was an attempt to slow down the entry of those who have a health problem, for which it was necessary to engage the Armed Forces (AF) of BiH. The decision to introduce quarantine was made for 10 border crossings,” said Tegeltija and stressed that 603 employees of the AF of BiH were engaged at the time, with 64 motor vehicles.
Also, he mentioned that the Council of Ministers, realizing the seriousness and cost of the pandemic for the health and real sector, decided to seek international assistance for protection and rescue.
“We held a meeting with international donors, and then BiH was promised to get the assistance of 84.000.000 euros,” told Tegeltija, adding that the principles of aid distribution were also defined.
He noted that the assistance came on different bases and that it is difficult to estimate the exact value, Nezavisne writes.
E.Dz.
