ACTION
FOR DISABILITY
Overseas Projects - Bosnia and Herzegovina
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In February 1996, Professor Mike Barnes, Chairman of AFD, was invited to Bosnia Herzegovina by the British Ambassador in Sarajevo. This visit resulted in a rehabilitation and educational programme for Bosnian rehabilitation professionals.
The first phase was to send modern and up to date textbooks on rehabilitation to centres in Fojnica, Tuzla, Sarajevo, Zenica and Banja Luka. AFD has also subscribed to rehabilitation journals to be dispatched to the same centres. The journals are designed to give a comprehensive view of current rehabilitation practice.
The second phase was a UK study tour in which a total of 16 individuals visited the UK from rehabilitation centres in Fojnica, Tuzla, Sarajevo, Zenica, Mostar, Banja Luka and Mljecanica. Many lectures, demonstrations and mutual discussions took place and the whole phase was a great success.
The third phase of the project comprised of a team of 13 individuals from the UK who visited four centres in the Muslim Croat Federation. The team consisted of rehabilitation physicians, clinical psychologists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, rehabilitation nurses, a prosthetist and the tour co-ordinator/physiotherapist. The four rehabilitation centres visited were in Sarajevo, Zenica, Tuzla and Fojnica.
The tour was successful and the programme consisted of lectures, discussions, clinical demonstrations and hands on involvement by the practitioners in clinical rehabilitation. We were lucky to be given demonstration equipment and drug supplies free of charge by manufacturers and we were able to leave these with the centres.
It was not possible for political reasons for the whole UK team to visit Republika Srpska at the same time as the visit to the Muslim Croat Federation. However, individuals from Srpska were able to come on the UK tour and the project co-ordinator was able to visit the centres in Srpska. There was clearly much enthusiasm and willingness to be involved in a similar project.
This led to the next phase of the project and, in July 1997, a small team of rehabilitation workers including one doctor and two physiotherapists, arrived in Newcastle upon Tyne to spend four weeks at various rehabilitation units up-dating skills and learning new techniques. They were closely followed by a further team consisting of two doctors and one physiotherapist following the same sort of programme.
In addition to this, a prosthetist from Republika Srpska came to the UK and was attached to the Regional Prosthetic and Amputee Rehabilitation Centre in Newcastle upon Tyne and also visited other prosthetic manufacturing units.
In September 1997, three health professionals visited Republika Srpska, conducting formal lectures, seminars and clinical training sessions in three key Serb centres at Banja Luka, Mljecanica and Kulasi. Approximately 20 people from each centre, including rehabilitation physicians, therapists and nurses, participated in the programme.
Following this phased project, we have continued to offer expertise and assistance to the centres in Bosnia-Herzegovina. We have also continued to send relevant literature to all of the centres and hope this fruitful partnership will continue.