An interregional professional conference was held within the project “Healthy aging in the cross-border region – HEAL”

The professional conference on the occasion of the World Mental Health Day within the HEAL project was held today, October 10, 2023, in the Cultural Center of the Municipality of Inđija. The event was attended by representatives of the professional community that works daily with the elderly population – health workers, representatives of social welfare institutions, members and volunteers of local Red Cross organizations from the Srem district, as well as the general public.

The participants of the conference were first greeted by Gordana Jakovljević, head of Department for European projects of the European Affairs Fund of AP Vojvodina, as well as the Secretary of the Red Cross, Inđija Mirela Sedlan. The Secretary of the Red Cross of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Daniel Tučić, and the Secretary of the Red Cross of Vojvodina, Boško Mitrašinović, addressed those present. On this occasion, the Deputy Provincial Secretary for Health, dr Olivera Ivanov, addressed the audience as well as the Assistant Provincial Secretary for Regional Development, Interregional Cooperation and Local Self-Government, Vidosava Enderić, who pointed out that the contribution of the cross-border cooperation project is not measured only in the money we manage to absorb, but in concrete results for the benefit of citizens.

“Through this project, at least 750 members of the elderly population will have the opportunity to perform basic preventive examinations without going to health facilities, thanks to the work of the newly established local mobile teams of the Red Cross in the field,” Enderić pointed out.

Dejan Rešetar from the European Affairs Fund of AP Vojvodina presented the project “Healthy aging in the cross-border region – HEAL” to the attendees, as well as future activities and events planned during the implementation of the project, which are aimed at the introduction of new health and preventive services for the elderly citizens in the border area of Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Sports expert Nemanja Milović spoke about the importance of physical activity in later years, while dr Nevena Terzić Malenčić, specialist in psychiatry at the Novi Sad Health Center, spoke about the cognitive profile of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Jagoda Vještica, Senior Adviser at the Protector of Citizens – Ombudsman, spoke on the topic of dignified aging, while Jelena Milić from the Red Cross of Vojvodina spoke on the importance of intergenerational cooperation.

The goal of the HEAL project is to contribute to the improvement of the general health of older citizens by increasing the availability of basic health and preventive services in rural areas in the cross-border area between Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The project “Healthy Aging in the Cross-Border Region – HEAL” is funded by the European Union within the IPA II Cross-Border Cooperation Program Serbia – Bosnia and Herzegovina 2014-2020 with the support of the Ministry of European Integration the Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Directorate for European Integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The funds intended for the implementation of the project amount to 254,447.78 euros, and the European Union co-finances the project with 216,280.61 euros.

The project is jointly implemented by the Red Cross of Vojvodina, the Red Cross of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Red Cross of Inđija and the European Affairs Fund of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina.