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Betreff:         E.C. Grants One Million Euros for Mitrovica Hospital Rehabilitati on
Datum:         Wed, 1 Sep 1999 10:16:24 -0400
    Von:         IGEUWEB Mailbox <igeuweb@EXCHANGE.USIA.GOV>

 
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KOSOVO - Official U.S. Government Documents For more information regarding the latest policy statements and other materials related to the Kosovo crisis, visit http://www.usia.gov/regional/eur/balkans/kosovo/

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Text: European Commission Helps Rehabilitate Hospital in Kosovo

Grants 1 million euros for hospital in Mitrovica

The European Commission announced August 27 that it will provide a grant of one million euros to rehabilitate the hospital in Mitrovica, Kosovo, calling the project a "clear symbol" of the European Union's determination to support public institutions where Kosovars from different ethnic backgrounds "can work together to provide services for all Kosovars."
     The Commission said the money will be used to pay for basics needs as replacing broken windows, repairing the water and heating systems, and replacing the electric generator, and for salaries for the ethnic Albanian and ethnic Serb staff members.
     According to a Commission press release August 27, the project is part of a package of assistance to the Mitrovica hospital which brings together the European Commission, KFOR (the international security force in Kosovo), UNMIK (the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo), the French foreign ministry, and non-governmental organizations. It said KFOR and UNMIK are taking "all the necessary steps" to ensure that Albanian donors and nurses, as well as their patients, have guaranteed and secure access to the hospital.

Following is the text of the EC release:

European Commission
Brussels, Belgium
27 August 1999

EUROPEAN COMMISSION DECIDES ON ASSISTANCE FOR HOSPITAL AT TROUBLED TOWN OF MITROVICA, KOSOVO

The European Commission decided on a grant of euros 1 million for the urgent rehabilitation of the hospital at Mitrovica, Kosovo. The grant will pay for urgent repairs to the building, electricity generating and heating equipment, and salaries for both the ethnic Albanian and ethnic Serb staff. In a city still riven by ethnic tension, this project is a clear symbol of the European Union's (EU) determination to support public institutions where Kosovars from different ethnic backgrounds can work together to provide services for all Kosovars. The project forms part of a package of assistance to the hospital which brings together the European Commission, KFOR, UNMIK, the French foreign ministry and NGOs.
     Mitrovica hospital is a shared resource in a divided city. It faces many problems: neglect and lack of investment mean that its buildings and facilities are badly degraded and its staff face an uphill struggle to deliver healthcare in an environment Commission officials have described as deplorable. The non-payment of the ethnic Albanian staff and the departure of key administrative staff mean that management of the hospital is extremely difficult. And the effective physical partition of the town means that ethnic Albanian staff and patients have found it hard and even dangerous to get to the hospital, which is north of the river which runs through the town.
     The Commission's announcement of euros 1 million assistance for the hospital is designed to address these problems. It will pay for basic things like the replacement of broken windows, the repair of the water and heating systems and the replacement of the electricity generator. Patients have died on the operating table because of power cuts and lack of water means that basic hygiene standards are near impossible to maintain. So these are crucial steps.
     The project will also ensure that the hospital management team is able to pay its staff on an equitable basis. At the moment, the Yugoslav government is paying ethnic Serbian staff, who account for around three-quarters of the total workforce, but the ethnic Albanian staff work unpaid. The Commission's assistance will put management firmly in the hands of the UNMIK-appointed hospital administration who will pay all staff according to a common salary scale.
     Alongside this assistance, UNMIK and KFOR are taking all the necessary steps to ensure that Albanian donors and nurses as well as their patients have guaranteed and secure access to the hospital.
     "The EU can only support Kosovar institutions which are at the service of all Kosovars", says Marc Franco, Head of the European Commission's Task Force in Kosovo. "This hospital must be a place of healing both physical and spiritual for all who need it, irrespective of their ethnic group".

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