FBiH Government Allocates Nearly 10 Million for Coronavirus Containment

(Patria) - The Federal Government has adopted a Decision on the allocation and use of dedicated revenues from a special transaction account for funds for protection and rescue from natural and other disasters, opened as a sub-account within the Treasury's Single Account, accumulated from previous years for the Federal Civil Protection Administration, in the total amount of 9,814,300 BAM.

Dedicated funds in the Budget for 2020 will be allocated and used for the procurement of necessary equipment, including the adaptation of premises, for the protection of healthcare workers and the population in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina under the aggravated epidemiological situation with the new coronavirus (COVID-19), and for securing funds for financing quarantine.

Before this decision, the Government amended the Regulation on the organization of protection and rescue services of FBiH, which stipulated that the first public institution in the healthcare sector to form a medical assistance service is the Clinical Center of the University of Sarajevo, instead of the Sarajevo Canton Emergency Medical Service Institute.

Taking into account the fact that the Federal Civil Protection Administration, through an analysis of the state of organization of protection and rescue services, determined that it is necessary to organize a protection and rescue service – Medical Assistance Service within the Clinical Center of the University of Sarajevo, instead of, as before, within the Sarajevo Canton Emergency Medical Service Institute, these amendments have been made, which will ensure that medical assistance services are uniformly organized within the clinical centers in Tuzla, Mostar, and Sarajevo.

A Decision on amendments and additions to the Decision on the conditions and manner of using funds generated from the special fee for protection from natural and other disasters has also been adopted, which did not provide for the payment of fees to the damage assessment commission, except during their engagement in assessing specific damages in the field and conducting training for damage assessment commissions of lower levels of government.