In light of the deteriorating COVID-19 situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Ambassadors of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC), the international body overseeing the implementation of the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement, called for “resilience and unity,” urging local politicians to refrain from accusations and politicising the issue of vaccine procurement in the country.

The dramatic COVID-19 situation is causing “immense strain on the healthcare system” in Bosnia and the number of new infections and fatalities keeps growing, the statement by the Ambassadors of the Peace Implementation Council Steering Board and the Board of Principals noted in their statement on Thursday.

“The stress and anxiety of the people are completely understandable,” they added, reminding of the joint call from Bosnia’s tripartite Presidency last week “for all citizens to fully respect the epidemiological guidelines, measures and recommendations so that every citizen can act responsibly in regard to their own safety and for the safety of their community.”

“A coherent and coordinated public health and socio-economic response across the country would maximize the impact of the measures and help control transmission, relieve pressure on the healthcare system and ultimately save lives while sustaining the economy. This is as equally important as the safe roll-out of vaccines,” the statement said.

“While responsibility for dealing with the pandemic must rest with the authorities, the International Community in BiH is supporting all efforts to control the spread of COVID-19 and help BiH alleviate the situation,” it said, adding that the International Community “highly appreciates the continuous efforts and dedication of all the medical staff in BiH to control COVID-19.”

“What we all need now is resilience and unity. We urge political actors to refrain from accusations and politicizing the issue of vaccines. As vaccines have started to arrive in-country, the support and advocacy of political authorities in the rollout and in the uptake of available vaccines will be essential,” the PIC Ambassadors stressed.

They noted that this needs to go hand in hand with other public health and social measures and that “no one should be left behind.”

“The virus is poisoning bodies. Don’t let inflammatory rhetoric poison minds,” they argued.

“The International Community is committed to working with Bosnia and Herzegovina to help protect the health, safety and wellbeing of the people and it will continue to support all vital efforts in this regard. Hopefully, together we will overcome this disaster as fast as possible,” the statement concluded.