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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

EU invests €12m in public health institutes throughout Serbia

Belgrade, 5 February 2024

Minister for European Integration Tanja Miscevic and Minister of Health Danica Grujicic visited today one of the reference microbiological laboratories at the Institute for Public Health of Serbia "Dr. Milan Jovanovic Batut", which during this year UNDP plans to reconstruct and equip.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Health Organisation, with the support of the Delegation of the European Union in Serbia, presented a new initiative to strengthen the readiness of the health system in our country for threats to public health, whether caused by natural or human factors.

Miscevic stated that the planned money will be used for the renovation and modernisation of three reference laboratories in Belgrade, Nis and Kragujevac, and the possibility of further digitalisation and the use of artificial intelligence for the purpose of further improving their work was also considered.

Grujicic said that the grants in the amount of €12 million, which will be donated by the European Union for the provision of laboratories in public health institutes in Belgrade, Kragujevac and Nis, represent a great help and that the conditions in which the employees will work in a year will be the same as they really exist in the world.

Head of the EU Delegation in Serbia Emanuele Giaufret explained that the presented programme concerns the health sector, but primarily refers to the improvement of institute laboratories, not only in Belgrade, but also in Nis and Kragujevac.

He reiterated that the program will deal with digitalisation, the risk register that will be integrated and work with local governments on this topic.

Giaufret noted that in the past 20 years, the EU has given Serbia a total of €570 million for the health sector alone, both in the form of grants and loans.

Permanent representative of UNDP in Serbia Yakup Beris said that thanks to EU support, 35 microbiological laboratories located within the "Batut" Institute and the Institute for Public Health in Nis and Kragujevac will be reconstructed and equipped, in accordance with the standards of the World Health Organisation.

Head of the WHO Office in Serbia Fabio Scano said that emergency situations cannot be predicted, but that it is possible to prepare the system to have an appropriate reaction.

He noted that 154 municipalities will be prepared to have a ready plan for a quick reaction when it comes to what they need when an emergency situation becomes likely in the future.