Bosnia's institutions have been doing a good job fighting the COVID-19 pandemic but this is only the beginning and it would be best if identical measures were applied across the country, the Head of the EU Delegation in Bosnia, Johann Sattler, told N1 on Monday.
Last week, representatives of the European Union and UN Development Programme (UNDP) in Bosnia and Herzegovina signed a package securing two million Euro of financial assistance for Bosnia to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences.
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The funds come as the first set of the EU's financial assistance, while the other five million Euros will be provided in due course.
The money will be used for medical equipment – primarily respirators, coronavirus tests and protective gear.
Sattler said that 80 respirators were secured for Bosnia and Herzegovina and that 40 of them should arrive in the country within the next two weeks. He also said that 7,000 COVID-19 tests should arrive in the country on Tuesday.
The EU official also said that Brussels approved for Bosnia to participate in cheaper faster procurement of medical equipment and medicine along with EU member states.
Another 70 million Euro are ensured through grants for rescuing businesses in the transport and service sectors which are the most vulnerable at this time, he said.
“Other than saving lives, we must also save livelihoods. A lot of people were left without jobs overnight,” he said, adding that those funds should be available in the coming weeks.
As for the way Bosnia’s institutions reacted, Sattler said “so far, so good,” but he argued that cooperation must be even stronger and in place in regard to other sectors.
The same measures should be applied in both semi-autonomous entities in the country, the Federation (FBiH) and Republika Srpska (RS), he stressed.
The EU Special Representative also argued that the most important thing at the moment is to test as many people as possible and that the number of persons tested until now in Bosnia relatively low.
He also stressed that “the biggest problem would be an overburdened healthcare system and lacking enough hospital beds” during the pandemic and urged citizens to obey the advice of experts on the matter.
