Transparency International of Bosnia and Herzegovina (TIBiH) and the Centers for Civil Initiatives (CCI) presented today in Sarajevo the ” Analysis of the Legal-Institutional Framework and Policies for the Prevention of Corruption in Healthcare in BiH” prepared within the project Heal Health, funded by the European Union. The analysis provides an overview of the legal and bylaw framework, as well as the practice of health institutions in preventing corruption, with a focus on areas prone to corruption (public procurement, human resource management, conflict of interest, financial management).
The conducted research points to a number of deep systemic problems in the health sector, which is based on fragile foundations and inadequate capacities for the development and implementation of quality measures in the fight against corruption. Regarding the establishment of internal financial control and audit, all levels in BiH are at an early stage of establishing the system. The research showed that more than half of the surveyed public health institutions (in FBiH 54%, in RS 67%) do not have established internal supervision.
In public procurement, which is one of the areas most susceptible to corruption, the findings of the research show that PHIs do not meet professional and ethical standards, nor do they have sufficient capacity. In the FBiH, slightly less than half of the surveyed PHIs have a public procurement officer, while in the RS this is the case with half of the respondents.
The election and appointment of governing bodies in public health organizations are deeply politicized and are subject to short- term in order to form and function political coalitions. Current legal solutions do not guarantee the election and appointment of the highest quality and most competent persons in public health organizations. The research showed that there are no regulated employment policies in the health sector.
In BiH, certain health services, which are not of an urgent nature, are waiting for a very long time (for some even up to 10 months), which can affect the health and life of patients. Unclear procedures for creating and not publishing waiting lists can lead to corrupt and illegal actions in the form of bribery by health workers or self-initiated bribes by patients to speed up health services.
Through the project “Cure Health” TI BiH and CCI will work directly with 15 selected health institutions, to improve their internal legal acts governing areas prone to corruption, to show that it is possible to significantly improve the situation in some institutions and in general in the health sector .
Get involved
Stay tuned
Subscribe to our newsletter and receive periodic notifications about our, announcements, calls and activities via email.
Don't miss it
If you want to receive our announcements immediately after the publication, leave your e-mail address in the field below.