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A healthy reminder

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in Stories.

An EU-funded project helps increase levels of childhood vaccinations in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Emina Pleh from Goražde completed all the vaccinations for her older daughter, but when it was time for her son’s vaccination, the COVID-19 pandemic had already begun, so she decided to wait. At the beginning of last year, she received a call from the Bosnian Podrinje Canton’s Public Health Institute, reminding her about her son’s need for immunisation, and referring her to the paediatric service for more information. “They said that we should do it before he starts preschool, and we did,” says Emina.

Emina is one of around 500 parents from Bosnian Podrinje Canton who received a call from the Public Health Institute reminding them of missed vaccination appointments. This initiative is part of Unicef’s EU-funded Programme for Mitigating the Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Lives of Children and Families in the Western Balkans and Turkey.

“When you remind parents that they need to bring their children for vaccination, they will often do it. This communication was missing.”

Making up for missng communication

Fatima Čengić is a Programme Specialist with Unicef in Bosnia and Herzegovina. She explains that

Unicef has been working on the improvement of immunisation in Bosnia and Herzegovina for many years, and has conducted surveys and analysis of the reasons why parents avoid vaccinating their children. The main reasons identified were health professionals not sharing enough information on the benefits and risks of vaccination, but also that parents sometimes simply forgot. “When you remind parents that they need to bring their children for vaccination, they will often do it. This communication was missing,” says Fatima.

Unicef therefore started developing communication strategies including the development and launch of an online application that would remind parents about vaccination schedules. However, when the COVID-19 pandemic began, they decided to engage dedicated support staff to take a different approach. The staff first reviewed all health records of children born between 2014 and 2020 who had been treated in the health centres of Goražde, Prača and Ustikolina. A list was made of all those who had missed one of the mandatory vaccines and then those parents were called on the phone and invited to contact their paediatricians, and local health centres gave them all the necessary information about immunisation and booking an appointment.

“I am very sure that the health centres would not have prioritised children’s vaccinations if there had not been this action from us with the support of the EU.”

About the project

The Programme for Mitigating the Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Lives of Children and Families in the Western Balkans and Turkey is a two-year initiative launched in 2021 by Unicef and the European Commission.

The purpose of the initiative is to strengthen national health, education, early childhood development, and child protection systems to ensure core services for vulnerable children and their families in the immediate and longer-term recovery response to COVID-19. Through this €5 million programme, 490,000 children and parents are expected to have better access to public services that promote early childhood development, education, health, and protection as part of the COVID-19 recovery.

Since then, the project has expanded to Sarajevo Canton where it covers eight more health centres. A recent programme visit saw that out of 500 vaccinations given in one health centre in December, 175 were through this project. “That means that about a third of vaccinations that happened in one month were through our project and this is a huge success,” says Fatima.

Fatima explains that vaccinations were a critical issue for the healthcare system in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as one of the first regular activities to be stopped during the pandemic was the vaccination of children. She believes that the project and the EU support had crucial impact, adding “I am very sure that the health centres would not have prioritised children’s vaccinations if there had not been this action from us with the support of the EU.”

“Block the Hatred. Share the Love!” campaign launched in Sarajevo

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in News.

The European Union and the Council of Europe officially launched the “Block the hatred. Share the love!” campaign at an event in Sarajevo, delivering a message that every citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina can play an important role in reducing hate speech with positive language and mutual respect.

 

During the event it was stressed that anyone can be exposed to hate speech, but that vulnerable groups are certainly most affected. Preventing hate speech is something that largely depends on an individual, but each person can educate themselves about its consequences and take action.

Acting Deputy Head of the EU Delegation, Jurgis Vilcinskas, said that the EU will not stand idle, being ready to support Bosnia and Herzegovina in fighting hate speech. “Violence that happens on social media doesn’t stay on social media; it is real violence, but social media offer us ways to challenge this and promote tolerance and mutual understanding online. I believe that this campaign will help us amplify messages of peace and diversity,” said Vilcinskas.

 

The “Block the Hatred. Share the Love!” campaign aims to combat various forms of hate speech targeting specific communities and individuals in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also to inform the public, especially younger generations, by distributing anti-hate speech content on social media and holding public events. These activities will involve prominent public figures, institutions, and activists, who will promote diversity and equality in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the region, through personal storytelling, testimonies and exchange of good practices.

 

The campaign is implemented within the “Promotion of diversity and equality in Bosnia and Herzegovina” initiative, which is  part of the joint European Union and Council of Europe Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022 programme .

RCC launches Butterfly Innovation award

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The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) has launched a Regional Butterfly Innovation Award seeking innovative, scalable and market-based solutions from the Western Balkans. The Butterfly Innovation Award fund totals €30,000, with the best solution in each of six categories receiving a prize of €5,000.

 

Candidates can apply for up to two out of the categories of:

 

-Industry innovation including metal processing, the creative industries, agri-food, the green and circular economy, tourism, fintech, biotech, and technology in the education and health sectors;

-Green innovation e.g. climate action, sustainable energy, mobility and agriculture, the fight against pollution, protection of nature and biodiversity;

-STEM innovation (science, technology, engineering and mathematics);

-Youth innovation recognising university undergraduate or high school students;

-University innovation recognising entrepreneurial culture at universities;

-Women’s innovation recognising women innovators and entrepreneurs.

 

This first regional Butterfly Innovation Award is designed to encourage, promote and endorse innovations and innovators from the Western Balkans. The application process is open until 13 May. Award winners will be announced on 27 June at an event which will be livestreamed on RCC social media profiles. The Award is financed by the European Union and implemented by the RCC as part of the Common Regional Market Action Plan for the Western Balkans.

Western Balkans connecting through Trans-Balkan Electricity Corridor

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Together with other Western Balkan partners, Serbia is building and connecting the 371.3 km Trans-Balkan Electricity Corridor, for which the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF) is providing €32.1 million of non-refundable EU funds.

 

Danko Gavrilović, WBIF Coordinator for Serbia, emphasises the importance of the project for the economy, connectivity and sustainability of renewable energy development. “The Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans 2021-2027 is a reflection of the European Union’s efforts to encourage the long-term economic recovery of the country and the region, with the support of so-called green and digital transformation and the acceleration of regional connectivity, and connectivity with the European Union. Intensive development of sustainable capacity also requires the development of the network of transmission,” said Gavrilović.

 

The project was identified as a flagship for transition from coal as well as being within the investment priority of clean energy, as determined in the Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans 2021-2027. The project is part of the EU’s wider support to the sector – the EU has invested more than €830 million in the energy sector over the past two decades. In 2022 alone, EU support to Serbia’s energy sector is estimated at €100 million.

 

Diversification of energy sources, security of supply, energy efficiency and decarbonisation of the economy, in line with the Paris Agreement, are the main goals of the EU’s support, which is implemented in cooperation with the Government of Serbia. The EU will continue to support Serbia in aligning with the EU acquis and creating structures that will allow for further investment in the decarbonisation of the energy sector.

“Block the Hatred. Share the Love!” campaign launched in Tirana

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The “Block the Hatred. Share the Love!” campaign against hate speech launched in Tirana on 25 March. The launch ceremony gathered opinion leaders, activists and senior representatives from authorities who all raised their voices against hate speech and pledged to promote an equal society, without hate and discrimination.

 

The Head of the Political Section of the European Delegation to Albania, Alexis Hupin, emphasised the importance of enforcement in the process of fighting hate speech. “I would like to invite you to continue this fight together, to condemn cases of hate speech, to report cases of hate crimes and to count on each other in making Albania a better place, free of discrimination, free of hatred and with equal opportunities for everyone.”

 

Daniela Kortoçi, a Young European Ambassador (YEA) from Albania said that “As YEAs, one of our main areas of focus is to influence with purpose throughout the Western Balkans. Influencing youth also means that we need to listen more to each other, and share our experiences and stories related to hatred online and how we overcame it. So let’s start this campaign: block the hatred and share the love.”

 

The “Block the Hatred. Share the Love!” campaign is an awareness-raising movement introduced in the Western Balkans last year to inform and engage local communities in the fight against various forms of hate speech targeting vulnerable groups and individuals such as those from the LGBTI community, immigrants, people with special needs and ethnic minorities. The campaign will continue in the months ahead with a series of public events promoted through websites and social media, but also in the mainstream media.

 

The campaign is implemented within the Promotion of diversity and equality in Albania initiative, part of the joint European Union and Council of Europe Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022, which supports reforms in the fields of human rights, rule of law and democracy in compliance with European standards, and within the EU enlargement process.

New rural development support for Albania, North Macedonia and Serbia

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The European Commission has adopted (IPARD) rural development programmes under the instrument for pre-accession assistance, offering €112 million for Albania, €97 million for North Macedonia and €288 million for Serbia. The programmes provide the basis for EU support in the field of agriculture and rural development until 2027.

 

Together with national public and private contributions, the IPARD programmes are expected to generate in total over €2 billion of investments in the rural areas of Western Balkans and Turkey. Through these programmes, countries pursue objectives related to the competitiveness of the agri-food sector, sustainable management of natural resources, climate action and improving rural areas’ attractiveness.

 

The programmes also contribute to the objectives of the European Green Deal and the Green Agenda for the Western Balkans through investments to align with EU standards including through upgrading buildings, machinery, and equipment. They also help increasing rural areas’ growth potential and their attractiveness to prevent depopulation. This can be done through better infrastructure, diversifying income-generating economic activities and fostering rural employment, in particular among women and youth. IPARD is an integral part of the broader EU pre-accession strategy under the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance.

EIB scales up private sector support in Montenegro

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The European Investment Bank (EIB) – the EU’s lending arm – will provide a €400,000 grant for technical assistance support to the Investment and Development Fund of Montenegro (IDF). The grant will strengthen the IDF’s capacity to provide financial services for the benefit of Montenegro’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), helping them maintain liquidity, expand their investments, and sustain and create inclusive, long-term jobs. With this technical assistance, the EIB is supporting the IDF in the improvement of its organisational and business model to bring its structure in line with best international practice for national development banks.  
The EIB grant aims to accelerate the recovery and growth of the private sector in Montenegro and create new job opportunities, especially for young people, women and people from other vulnerable social groups. The grant stems from the Economic Resilience Initiative, set up by the EIB in 2016 to mobilise financing for faster growth, job creation, social cohesion and the development of vital infrastructure projects in the Western Balkans.  
Since the start of the pandemic in 2020, the EIB has signed financing operations worth €100 million with the IDF, which has helped around 350 companies in Montenegro recover faster from the COVID-19 crisis. In 2021, the EIB signed its first loan with the IDF to support the introduction of energy-efficient practices and projects among SMEs in Montenegro, enabling a faster transition to a sustainable and circular economy in the country.

Seven days, 45 young people, 1,540 kilometres, seven cities

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After a week of travelling throughout the Western Balkan region, carrying out volunteer initiatives and meet-ups with RYCO local branch offices, young activists and local volunteering organisations, the ROUTE WB6 Caravan ended its journey in Tirana. During these seven days, 45 young people from the region also had the opportunity to visit Bitola, Mostar, Kopaonik, Podgorica, Pristina, and Sarajevo, covering a total of 1,540 kilometres.
 
The ROUTE WB6 Alumni Volunteers, young HAJDE journalists and Young European Ambassadors joined forces in tackling joint regional issues while socialising, supporting local communities, and breaking the prejudices and stereotypes that still exist in the region. ROUTE WB6 Alumni clubs were also established across the region.
 
The Young European Ambassador from Banjaluka, Anastasija Đorđa Bosančić, described the Caravan as a truly life-changing experience. “Certain things cannot be understood or processed until you set foot in all the WB6 societies, spend some time with peers coming from different perspectives and backgrounds, and of course, until you are brave enough to open your heart and dare to say yes to this unusual and amazing adventure. My sincere wish is that the vibe we experienced during this Caravan can be spread across our region in the near future,” Anastasija said.

RHP beneficiary families receive new homes in Serbia

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Thirty families were handed the keys to new apartments in Loznica, Serbia as part of support from the Regional Housing Programme (RHP).

 

In addition to the beneficiaries themselves, the event was attended by Slavica Jelača, the Secretary General of the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Vladimir Cucić, the Serbian Commissioner for Refugees and Migration, and Vidoje Petrović, the Mayor of Loznica. Delivering the keys to the families, Ms Jelača wished them the best of luck in their new homes.

 

One of the beneficiaries, Olivera Dunžić, fled from Bosnia and Herzegovina to Serbia with her husband in 1995, and their two children were born in Loznica. “The difficult years are behind us, and we are looking forward decisively,” she said. “Until now, we have lived as tenants in several apartments. Today, we have  finally found a secure home. Once again, I would like to thank the donors as well as everyone else who offered us a new beginning.”

 

The European Union is the largest donor of the Regional Housing Programme, with other key donors being Germany, Italy, Norway, Switzerland and the United States of America.

Klajdi Kaziu

Written by WeBalkans on . Posted in YEA of the month.

YEA of the Month February 2022

Klajdi Kaziu is one of the most dedicated members of YEA network.
He took part in many different activities, but moreover he took the lead and proposed multiple project ideas for Tirana European Youth Capital 2022. that are about to get to the developing and implementing stage during this year.
Recently, Klajdi had great success with writing an article on EU values. His core value is diversity and he has been demonstrating it through his actions.
Klajdi is an acting Secretary General at the United Nations Association in Albania, leading efforts to establish the National Network on Youth, Peace and Security. He holds a MA in European Integration and Global Studies from the CIFE – Centre International de Formation Européen.