GENERAL MEDICAL INFORMATION ON REFUGEES AND MIGRANTS IN BOSNIAN AND HERZEGOVINA BRING CLOSER TO LOCAL PEOPLE

GENERAL MEDICAL INFORMATION ON REFUGEES AND MIGRANTS IN BOSNIAN AND HERZEGOVINA BRING CLOSER TO LOCAL PEOPLE

Dimitar Anakiev·Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Until June 2018 refugees and migrants solved their health problems in local healthcare institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina. At that time the heads of local healthcare institutions normally and democratic informed local media about the health situation of this specific vulnerable population. For example, in Velika Kladuše, from dr. Okanović, the director of local health center, reporting to local media, we knew frequency of migrants visit to health center in Kladuša at that time and morbidity they had from visits. Everything in detail, very professionally. Dr. Senad Okanović also commented to media other things related to healthcare of migrants, for example: preventive measures, cost of healthcare of the refugees and migrants and donations they received. Everything was open and democratic. 

    After MSF ostensibly* took over the healthcare of the migrants and refugees 

in Bosnia and Herzegovina the reporting medical information to the public of Bosnia 

and Herzegovina stopped i.e. local community was excluded from the information. 

MSF was reporting only to UN agencies and they republished it in own circles in very 

general, abstract and often beautified manner. Nowadays we have cases like death of 

a minor in the camp for migrants and no one can get any reliable  information  because 

all medical services in primary health care are alienated of democratic mechanism by 

which medicine regularly function. Professional medical standards are simply abolished 

but they must be restored again.

Dimitar Anakiev, dr. med 

*Until November 2008 MSF had no permission to work in Bosnia and Herzegovina and their acting in the filed of healthcare from June to November is unclear.