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MOSTAR, July 4 (FENA) - The Refugee Reception Center Salakovac near Mostar received its new vehicle for the purpose of realizing the rights of refugees and asylum seekers, and in particular the exercise of the right to health services in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The vehicle worth 35 thousand euros was purchased by the Swiss Embassy in BiH, and the purchase of the vehicle was carried out by UNHCR.
The keys of the van were handed to the head of the Center Ahmet Sijamhodžić by the Minister of Human Rights and Refugees to BiH Semiha Borovac together with the Deputy Director for Cooperation at the Swiss Embassy to BiH Patrick Egli and the Head of the UNHCR Regional Office for Southeast Europe Anne Christine Eriksson.
“This vehicle is an eight-seater that will serve the beneficiaries of the Center, primarily in accomplishing the rights to health services, especially when it comes to specialist diagnostics,” Minister Borovac told the press and thanked them for the funds that were allocated by the Swiss Government with which, as she said, her Ministry cooperates, as well as numerous other projects.
She said that Refugee Reception Centre Salakovac currently accommodates more than 180 refugees and asylum-seekers, mostly families with children, and in the past period, the Centre staff faced a number of medical cases that required urgent interventions in the medical institutions in Mostar, which is 15 kilometers away, relying on availability of transportation of the supporting organizations working within the Centre.
Mr. Patrick Egli, Deputy Director of Cooperation of the Embassy of Switzerland in Bosnia and Herzegovina, stressed that Switzerland’s humanitarian support would enable provision of health care for at least 1,000 refugees and migrants throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“This is not just about numbers, it is about effective prevention of the spreading of communicable diseases, responding rapidly to the health needs and alleviating human suffering”, he said, adding that the provision of a vehicle for medical transportation would also ensure that the existing vehicles are not used at the expense of the local population.
In 2019, almost 11,000 refugees and migrants arrived in BiH, most of whom have expressed intention to seek asylum in this country. As of 30 June, according to the statistics of the BiH Ministry of Security, 197 people formally requested asylum in BiH in 2019, while overall, since the beginning of the increased arrivals of refugees and migrants in BiH in 2018, 1,767 asylum claims were lodged. This has created serious challenges for the health system in BiH – as it was not designed to allow or provide access to primary and secondary health care for such a large number of asylum-seekers, refugees and migrants, whether living privately or in temporary reception centres.
“This valuable donation is a generous expression of solidarity and direct support of the Government of Switzerland to the people in need, here in Salakovac. It will help ensure timely transportation of the beneficiaries of the Centre in need of health services, but it shall also benefit the local population as it will reduce the burden put on local resources”, said Anne-Christine Eriksson, UNHCR Regional Representative for South-East Europe and Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
This contribution by the Government of Switzerland for the health sector is ensuring a much needed flexibility for UNHCR to help BiH authorities to fill remaining gaps within the health sector, as they respond to the urgent basic needs of refugees and asylum-seekers in BiH.
Sijamhodžić said that the Center currently houses mostly Iraq nationals (100), Iran (30), Afghanistan (16), Syria (7), Pakistan (6) and Nepal (3).
(FENA) L. N.
