EU HAS NOT LEFT NORTH MACEDONIA “HANGING“, DONATED FIRST AID IS ACCORDING TO REAL NEEDS

On March 30th 2020, the website Lider.com.mk published a news article titled: EU has left N. Macedonia hanging: more money donated to Kosovo for handling with Covid-19.

If one reads the news article he/she could notice that the very purpose of its title is to spread disappointment among our citizens from the decision of the European Commission. That conclusion can be reached from the fact that the news article published on Lider contains a statement which says that the European Commission’s aid, or in other words the decision upon the amount of money to be donated to member states, is based on the real needs of the countries themselves. “We will help our partners to cover their immediate needs for their health systems, as well as promote longer term measures to mitigate the socio-economic impact of the coronavirus crisis and support small and medium sized enterprises in the region”, said Várhelyi.

That Kosovo’s Healthcare system is in need of bigger support could be concluded from the statement of the Executive Director of the World Health Organization, Dr. Michael Ryan, who on 4.2.2020 declared that Kosovo’s healthcare system is still in a dire situation.

“Kosovo is a country which came out from a difficult situation and now it is renewing its service delivery system. I have been in Kosovo for a few months to help in building their healthcare system. I am aware of the challenges facing the citizens of Kosovo in the last few years. Kosovo’s healthcare system still has weaknesses, but there are many professionals who are dedicated and hardworking. Kosovo needs an active case detection system and needs to increase its capacities to handle the situation”, said Dr. Ryan. 

In 2018, Kosovo’s Ministry of health requested that the Western Balkans Investment Framework  invest 50 million euros in medical equipment through support from the European Bank.

Official data published on August 16th 2016 by the former Minister of economy, Driton Kuci, could serve as a sort of comparison between our healthcare system and the one in Kosovo, according to which Kosovo’s citizens spend 25 to 30 million euros for healthcare services in North Macedonia. 

Nevertheless, the European Commission rendered a decision to assist North Macedonia and Albania with €4 million each in their battle against COVID-19. Bosnia and Herzegovina will receive €7 million, Montenegro will receive €3 million, Kosovo €5 million, and up to €15 million will go to Serbia, the most affected country until now.