Due to numerous health problems in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, it was decided that the thematic session of both houses of the Federal Parliament will be held on May 25.
It was decided after five months ago (December 22, 2025) representatives of the “Vote for Life” initiative, which gathers more than 35 patient associations from all over Bosnia and Herzegovina, asked the Board to organize a thematic session on the state of healthcare.
As stated by the “Vote for Life” initiative, representatives of both houses of the FBiH Parliament, representatives of the Federal Ministry of Health, the Institute of Health Insurance and Reinsurance of the FBiH, the Institute of Public Health of the FBiH as well as representatives of the medical profession and patients were invited to the session. Factor.
– A special focus will be placed on the availability of therapies, i.e. the list of medicines of the Solidarity Fund that has not been revised since 2019, the actual situation in the health system when it comes to oncological-hematological diseases and rare diseases, with the presentation of concrete data, expert opinions and experiences of patients from the field. The goal is to open up issues that have burdened patients and their families for years through a joint conversation between the profession, institutions and patients. We believe that this thematic session will represent an important step towards concrete changes in the health care system and that the conclusions of the session will be sent to the Parliament of FBiH – the “Vote for Life” initiative pointed out.
Alma Stefanišin, president of the Association of People Suffering from Rheumatoid Arthritis and Other Rheumatic Diseases “Snaga” in BiH and a member of the “Vote for Life” initiative, says that it is particularly encouraging that the representatives of the Health Committee have shown a willingness to listen to the problems that patients face every day, but also that these problems are finally discussed institutionally, openly and with the involvement of all relevant stakeholders.
– As someone who has been advocating the rights of patients for years, I believe that it is very important that institutions, the medical profession and representatives of patients will gather at one thematic session, because only through joint dialogue can we reach concrete solutions. It is particularly important that the focus will be on the availability of therapies, the list of medicines of the Solidarity Fund, as well as the actual situation in the field of oncology-hematology and rare diseases. Patients no longer have time to wait and that is why it is important that their voice is heard where decisions are made.
Yesterday, we had a working meeting with the members of the Board, which was extremely constructive, successful, and I would say an important step forward and a good basis for the thematic session to bring concrete conclusions and initiate changes that will mean a better and more accessible health system for all patients in the FBiH – emphasized Stefanišin.
President of the Association of Prostate Cancer Patients in FBiH and implementer of the “Vote for Life” project, Sead Sefić, claims that progress is being seen and that decision-makers and the political public are putting the concept of health in the focus of their activities for the first time.
– Of course, this is the result of the steps we took, which in the past period seemed unreal. The success is that we finally got the political public interested in solving health problems – adds Sefić.
Although this move is considered by some as a well-designed pre-election trick, above all those who make up the government in FBiH, Sefić emphasizes that the representatives of the “Vote for life” initiative let the representatives of the Health Committee know that they are not politically colored and that they do not want to be.
– Everyone can use the benefits of this arrangement through their political activity, however we do not want to be a tool in their hands, to do as they please and deceive us as it was in the past years. We are looking for concrete moves and results. It is clear to us that the health system is in such a state that we cannot expect a revolution, but things can be improved step by step. We dissected it and said what is the priority and what gives the first results. We do not want a session where we will confess to the representatives and authorities as if in a mirror. This time, patients are unique and know what they want. What is sad about all this is that we patients are doing the work of those who are paid for it – points out Sefić.
He says that the list of medicines of the Solidarity Fund, which has not been revised for more than seven years, is on the horizon.
– The list has been completed, but it is not yet available to patients, and the reason is the procedural path, which is complicated. They made it so that before the Government of FBiH, which makes the final decision, the list of medicines of the Solidarity Fund must go through the internal procedures of the Legislative Committee and the Ministry of Finance, which will say that money is behind the list. According to our knowledge, the work is nearing completion, which opens up great opportunities for our patients, which means new treatments and indications. Patients are being treated with outdated therapies for too long. We need new and more effective medicines – concluded Sefić.
