Migrants in the Una-Sana Canton (USC) are not a problem of that canton only but of the state too, Minister for Human Rights and Refugees, Semiha Borovac, said on Tuesday during the visit to this northwestern Bosnian region.

“A full support to the health workers regarding migrants is needed. Everyone's putting maximum efforts to provide adequate health care, primarily to prevent epidemics and various infectious diseases. Children must be vaccinated, accommodated and have adequate nutrition. Also, we should try to secure some sort of education (for them),” the minister said.

During the visit to the northwest of Bosnia, the region which has been struggling for the past months with the influx of migrants who have been trying to cross the border with Croatia and reach the European Union (EU), Borovac said the state institutions have not provided any help to assist the USC authorities.

According to her, the financial assistance was provided by UNICEF, European Commission and the EU's Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA).

“What matters is that the funds are adequately utilised, some EUR 8 million,” Borovac explained.

“Migrants in the USC are not a problem of the USC only but of the state too. The problems we discussed today will be reported to the Council of Ministers (of Bosnia and Herzegovina),” said the minister following a meeting with the authorities of the canton.

The EU has allocated over EUR 7.2 million-worth grant to support Bosnia and Herzegovina in the migration and border management sectors amidst the influx of migrants and refugees who have entered the country since the end of 2017, the EU's office in Sarajevo has said on Tuesday.

The project is aimed at further enhancement of the country's migration management, asylum, border control and surveillance capacities. The project will complement other initiatives including those supported by the EU and the Council of Europe Development Bank, USAID and other organisations. It builds on the EU's longer-term support to Bosnia to enhance the capacities for protection-sensitive migration management in line with the EU standards.

The funds, the EU's office said, were provided through the IPA social measure and will be implemented by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in partnership with the UNHCR and UNICEF.