Project HOPE Assessing Health Needs in The Balkans As Massive Flooding Forces Widespread Evacuations

Project HOPE expressed grave concern for the health needs of communities in the Balkans today after Cyclone Tamara flooded towns across Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Croatia, killing over 40 people and forcing mass evacuations in what officials described as the worst flooding in southeastern Europe in more than a century.

More than 2,000 landslides caused by unprecedented torrential rain were recorded, cutting power supply to over a million people. Project HOPE has a longstanding presence in the Balkans and has been asked by the Ministry of Health in Bosnia and Herzegovina to respond.

“Our teams in the region are assessing the critical health needs as evacuations continue.  We are reaching out for donations of medical product and financial support to deliver medicines and supplies quickly,” said Stuart Myers, Senior Vice President of Global Health at Project HOPE.

Aid workers on the scene say entire towns and villages are under water and it’s likely the death toll will rise.  The Sava and Danube rivers have swelled to historically high levels and rescue workers have built sandbag walls to protect a thermal power plant in Serbia, which produces 20 percent of the nation’s power supplies.

Project HOPE first provided donated medicines and medical supplies to Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992 in response to the Bosnian War which devastated the region. HOPE has subsequently refurbished or built more than 30 primary health care clinics and provided training in family medicine to health professionals in collaboration with the Ministry of Health.

HOPE continues to ship donated, high value medicines, medical equipment and supplies to hospitals and health clinics in Bosnia and Herzegovina through HOPE’s Strategic Medical Re-Supply Program to improve the quality of care for patients.