Ambassador of the Royal Norwegian Embassy to Bosnia and Herzegovina, H.E. Mr. Olav Reinertsen visited the University Clinical Hospital in Mostar on Thursday, September 10, 2020. On that occasion, the Ambassador met with representatives of the hospital management and donated valuable medical equipment: two patient monitors for monitoring vital functions with ECG and 25 thousand of protective masks.

"I am glad that the Norway was able to provide rapid support to Bosnia and Herzegovina in this difficult and serious situation. As you know, pandemic does not know about the borders and does not care about borders, and that is why it is important that all countries fight together against this pandemic" said Ambassador Reinertsen, and added that he was impressed by the work of medical staff in the fight against the pandemic.

The total value of the donated equipment amounts to 30,000 BAM. The equipment was procured and delivered to the hospital by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Ambassador Reinertsen was welcomed at the University Clinical Hospital by the Assistant Director, prof. dr. sc. Ivan Ćavar who thanked for the valuable donation. "This is a donation that means a lot to us given the unfavorable epidemiological situation related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the difficult financial situation in which we all find ourselves," said prof. dr. sc. Ćavar.

The Government of the Kingdom of Norway has allocated cca. 1.3 million BAM to support the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in BiH. In the past few months, among other things, the purchase of protective equipment for medical workers in the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton and institutions under the Ministry of Labor, Social Policy, Displaced Persons and Refugees of Sarajevo Canton and the purchase of ECG devices for Clinical Center of the University of Sarajevo and the Institute of Public Health of the Republic of Srpska have been financed as part of this support.

The Government of the Kingdom of Norway has also provided funding for the procurement of six medical ventilators for healthcare institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The donated equipment was procured on the basis of the agreement regarding the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which was signed by the Embassy of the Kingdom of Norway in BiH and UNDP BiH on March 26, 2020.