National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia / Activities / Activity details
Monday, 9 June 2014
Second Sitting of the Health and Family Committee
At the sitting held on 9 June, the Health and Family Committee discussed the epidemiological situation in the flood-stricken areas of the Republic of Serbia.
State Secretary at the Ministry of Health Prof. Dr Berislav Vekic informed the Committee members that during the state of emergency not only the Ministry of Health but all primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare medical facilities on the entire territory of Serbia instated a round-the-clock duty roster, adding that it was still in place in 17 municipalities and towns in Serbia. Speaking of the situation in the collective centres, work has been done on the prevention of intestinal and respiratory infections and the Ministry of Health has made a list of necessary medication. Vekic stressed that there is still risk of the spread of disease, considering the period of incubation.
The Director of Dr Milan Jovanovic Batut Public Health Institute, Dr Dragan Ilic spoke of the general health situation stressing that the immediate priority is to ensure clean potable water. According to Ilic, five towns in Serbia do not have potable water, and the water from a great many wells is also not fit for human consumption. Ilic added that vector-borne diseases continue to pose a threat.
The Director of the City Public Health Institute, Slobodan Tosovic said that securing a healthy water supply is of paramount importance in wide-spread floods, adding that Paracin, Svilajnac, Obrenovac, Doljevac and Babusnica remain without hygienically healthy drinking water. The upcoming rehabilitation of these areas should be conducted in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection, said Slobodan Tosovic.
The committee members asked about mosquito control in local communities, care for chronic patients in the flooded areas and communal waste management.
The Committee members decide to nominate Dr Predrag Mijatovic for member of the Commission for the Control of the Execution of Criminal Sanctions.
At the sitting, the Committee also set up a Working Group to process petitions from its purview, comprising: Dr Darko Laketic, Dr Ninoslav Giric and Dr Aleksandar Radojevic.
The sitting was chaired by Prof. Dr Slavica Djukic Dejanovic, Committee Chairperson.