85 NEW CHILDREN REGISTERED, ALL FUNDS DIRECTED TO TREATMENT

BANJA LUKA, APRIL 20 /SRNA/ – Funds from the Soul of Children Solidarity Fund for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Children's Illnesses, Conditions and Injuries Abroad /"Duša djece"/ are used exclusively for treating children, with 85 new beneficiaries registered since the beginning of this year, Fund Director Jasminka Vučković has stated.

Vučković noted that all bank statements are publicly available on the Fund's website and that a report will be presented to the National Assembly of Republika Srpska in July, as has been done eight times so far.

She added that administrative costs, including employee salaries, are financed from the Health Insurance Fund.

She emphasized that from the beginning of the year until April 20, a total of 85 new beneficiaries have been registered - the same number as in the entire year of 2018, when the Fund began operating in Republika Srpska.

"Around 3,800 decisions have been issued so far, and more than 1,400 children have been referred for treatment abroad. Most of them have not gone just once, but undergo continuous treatment," Vučković said at a press conference at the Health Insurance Fund.

She stressed that treatments are extremely expensive, noting that annual treatment for just six children referred to Slovenia costs around BAM 2 million.

Vučković underlined that the "Duša djece" Fund finances only diagnostics and treatment for children up to the age of 18 abroad when such care is not available in Republika Srpska or in institutions outside Srpska that have agreements with the Health Insurance Fund.

She added that all other healthcare services needed in everyday life are covered by the Health Insurance Fund and that there is no reason for concern about what happens when a child turns 18.

Vučković also said that one of the Fund's key goals is to reduce the number of humanitarian campaigns and SMS-based fundraising for treatment, which is already showing results.

Vladimir Veselinović, father of a 16-year-old treated in Belgrade and Istanbul, said that as many as 95 percent of families in Republika Srpska with sick children would not be able to finance treatment on their own.

"Anyone who donates, even as little as BAM 5, can help save a child," Veselinović said, adding that children from Srpska receive excellent care abroad.

Mirela Bokan, whose son Relja is a long-term patient, said that having treatment financed through the Solidarity Fund completely changed their lives.

After exhausting treatment options in Belgrade, she said they sold everything they had and raised EUR 19,000, while EUR 25,500 were needed for treatment in Germany.

"A doctor in Belgrade told us to take him home to die with his family," Bokan remembers.

Parents emphasized at the press conference that the Fund provides not only financial assistance but also security in the most difficult moments, as it responds immediately in urgent cases, without waiting for funds to be collected.

"When the Solidarity Fund is mentioned, clinics immediately accept the child. Payments are not awaited because foreign clinics have trust," the parents agreed.