May 12 - International Nurses Day was commemorated at the conference organized in Sarajevo which brought together nurses, representatives of relevant ministries and managers of health care facilities in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and representatives of Fami Foundation.

The theme for the 2023 global campaign “Our nurses. Our Future.” highlights the imperative for action to help nursing meet global health challenges and improve health for all.

Federal Minister of Health Nediljko Rimac pointed out that this is an opportunity to acknowledge the invaluable contribution and immeasurable role of nurses who show enormous efforts in providing high quality care to all patients.

"I would like to emphasize that the Federal Ministry of Health places significant efforts in the development of nursing that include the implementation of the Strengthening Nursing in BiH project, funded by the Government of Switzerland for many years now and implemented by Fami Foundation and University Hospitals of Geneva (HUG).

You, the nurses, invested your knowledge and experience, and your work results justify our strategic commitment. With the Strengthening Nursing in BiH project, we want to continue to strengthen the role of the community nurses but also to improve the competencies and skills that the modern nurses possess."

Eldin Fisekovic, Project Manager of the Strengthening Nursing in BiH project, emphasized that the nursing workforce is recognized as a vital workforce in every healthcare system and in the world as a whole.

"There is no healthcare system that can be organized in a credible manner without strong, educated, competent and credible nurses. They make up more than 50% of the employees in the healthcare system".

Since 2012, the Strengthening Nursing in Bosnia and Herzegovina project (ProSes) has been providing intensive support to relevant partners in strengthening nursing profession and providing quality nursing services to everyone, especially socially excluded groups. Achieved successes are the results of  the professional development trainings (over 4,500 nurses trained), revised curricula and equipped clinical skills cabinets at 8 nursing faculties, awarded scholarships to 60 students of master's and doctoral studies in nursing care, adopted standard operating procedures (290), and recently trained community nurses (352 in 20 municipalities).

As a result, more than 1,000,000 people in BiH have access to expanded community nursing services. The project is financed by the Government of Switzerland and implemented by the Fami Foundation (BiH) and the Geneva University Hospitals in cooperation with the Federal Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare of Republika Srpska and healthcare institutions throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina.