Municipality

Vrbas

Community

Druga

Title

Establishing Health Clinic in “Vinogradi”

Problem

Two clinics were operating in the Vrbas area: at the health center in the downtown area which covers the largest number of patients and offers the widest variety of services, and the clinic in the “old Vrbas” part of the town covering a somewhat smaller area, offering basic health services. Due to their limited capacities, both of these clinics were heavily overburdened. Patients sometimes had to wait for several days on end for a check-up or any other intervention, particularly common with those coming from the Vinogradi settlement, 3-6km from the nearest health clinic. Although the Municipality had started to solve the problem by adapting a building designated for a new health clinic, this facility lacked the necessary medical equipment and furniture to function as a clinic. Without this equipment, the adapted facility would remain unused, and Vinogradi citizens would still have to travel several times to Vrbas downtown area for each visit to the doctor’s office, thus making access to even basic health services inadequate.

Solution

The adapted facility was equipped with medical supplies and furniture according to citizens’ needs. A citizens-initiated advocacy campaign galvanized the municipality to allocate at least two doctors (two shifts), four nurses, one janitor, one dentist, and one dental technician.

Impact

Establishing a health clinic in Vinogradi settlement enables the provision of adequate health services to citizens, performing an anticipated 9,600 check-ups annually. In addition, the conditions and efficiency of other health clinics also improves, as the new clinic removes some pressure from their daily influx of patients. In addition to the health aspect, this project also has an economic side to it, as the opening of the new clinic stipulates creating 9 new positions (2 doctors, 2 dentists, 4 nurses, 1 janitor).

Beneficiaries

9,600

USAID Funds

$40,500

Community and Other Contribution

$56,700