As part of the EUFOR ALTHEA mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2 medical officers of the Italian Army arrived in Sarajevo to provide support during the COVID-19 emergency.
To welcome them at Sarajevo airport, if the Italian ambassador in Sarajevo, dr. Nicola Minasi, the Minister of Civil Affairs, Ankica Gudeljevic, competent in health matters at the state level, together with the presence of a representative of EUFOR staff.
The officers over the 3 months of the mandate will integrate the functions of the Medical Advisor (MEDAD) of the EUFOR ALTHEA Headquarters at Camp Butmir with the task of supporting NATO HQ Sarajevo and conducting epidemiological investigations, identifying suitable structures useful for the triage activity, as well as the quarantine and isolation facilities for personnel suspected and / or affected by COVID-19 infection.
Furthermore, the Italian medical staff, in close coordination with the staff of EUFOR ALTHEA, will take care of preparing and integrating the plans for the optimization of the healthcare capabilities provided by the operating theater in managing cases of COVID 19 infection, both in diagnostic and therapeutic.
To deal with the coronavirus that hit Bosnia and Herzegovina, the 2 medical officers, albeit formally integrated into EUFOR ALTHEA, will also carry out an important and valuable liaison activity with local authorities, sharing, from the earliest stages, the main measures adopted in Italy on the health plan for the management of the COVID-19 emergency. With this in mind, the aim is to establish a regular exchange of information to be used as the basis for any further interventions by experts from the motherland.
This complex activity has the twofold objective of making the contingent continue to operate in the maximum security framework and, at the same time, assisting local authorities with initiatives aimed at preserving the health of the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, through the preventive dissemination of experiences. accumulated in Italy against COVID-19.
The activity is part of the support vision of the Italian Military Health started thanks to the synergistic action between the MAECI and the Italian Ministry of Defense through himself dott. Nicola Mimasi of the Italian Embassy in Sarajevo and of the Defense Officer of the Italian Embassy in Belgrade, col. Ciro Forte, as part of a series of cooperation initiatives between Italy and Bosnia and Herzegovina, finding the full sharing of the initiative by the EUFOR ALTHEA Mission.
