Another portion of EU medical aid arrives: Oxygen concentrators shipped to Serbia

Illustration: Nikola Jovanovic

Healthcare facilities are receiving additional assistance in the form of 100 oxygen concentrators, which arrived in Serbia yesterday as part of the EU assistance package.

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These concentrators, are intended for oxygen therapy during hospital treatment, reducing the mortality rate from hypoxaemia in patients with a Covid-19 diagnosis, the Ministry of European Integration said.

"As we have already announced in the previous days, in cooperation with the EU Delegation and UNOPS, we are continuing activities aimed at procuring the necessary medical equipment and materials that should ensure protection of medical workers and afford the best care for patients in healthcare facilities. As part of the EU-provided emergency package, we have so far delivered patient triage containers and masks, and today oxygen concentrators, which should provide assistance to the most serious patients with serious respiratory problems, while we expect ventilators, monitors and other medical equipment in the coming period ," said European Integration Minister and National IPA Coordinator Jadranka Joksimovic.

In April, Serbia already received 800,000 protective masks, 300 contactless thermometers and 100 fully equipped triage containers that are being installed throughout Serbia as part of a 15 million-euro emergency response aid. Additional medical equipment is expected to arrive in the coming days, including test reagents, ventilators, and intensive care monitors.

"With our support in reacting to the emergency situation in Serbia, we are helping medical workers and patients alike. After masks and triage containers aimed at protecting those on the front lines of fighting Covid, this part of the assistance is aimed at reducing the death rate among patients with a Covid diagnosis, as oxygen is one of the key parts of their therapy. In addition, these concentrators can also be useful after the current coronavirus crisis, as they can generally be used in clinical therapy," said Sem Fabrizi, Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Serbia.

Sem Fabrizi - Photo: Tanjug/Sava Radovanovic

He stated that almost not a day went by since the crisis began without critical medical equipment being either transported or purchased by the EU and given to Serbian health care institutions and vulnerable communities.

"I am proud of the direct assistance we provide thanks to the European Union-funded emergency response package for Serbia, amounting to EUR 15 million. What we are all looking forward to now is the end of this crisis so that Serbia can quickly return to daily life and focus on economic recovery," Fabrizi said.

"Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 crisis, the European Union has been supporting Serbia almost daily, including by financing the transportation of medical equipment, worth a total of seven million euros, implemented by the United Nations Development Program Office, as well as by procuring the necessary medical equipment worth almost five million euros, which is being implemented in cooperation with the United Nations Office for Project Services in Serbia," a statement said.

(Telegraf.rs/Tanjug)