Minister of Civil Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Ankica Gudeljević spoke via video link with UNICEF Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina Rownak Khan about cooperation and upcoming activities related to the procurement of vaccines for Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Speaking about providing a cold chain for vaccine distribution and storage, Rownak Khan announced that the cold chain equipment provided by UNICEF for B&H is already on its way to Bosnia and Herzegovina and expressed confidence that the first refrigerator should be in use by the end of January.

Minister Gudeljević thanked UNICEF for its great commitment to help with the procurement of vaccines and the provision of refrigerators, emphasizing this importance given the high demand for cold chain equipment not only in B&H but in the market in general.

The officials also pointed out that UNICEF experts are working on examining the situation in health care institutions, their needs and capabilities, and that the delivered equipment will be in line with the testing that is already being done as well as the needs of modern health systems.

UNICEF Representative in B&H also offered expert assistance during the entire vaccine procurement process. In this regard, it is expected that in the coming period, UNICEF experts will be available to the Ministry of Civil Affairs on a daily basis.

Gudeljević and Khan also discussed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding for the provision of procurement services between UNICEF, the UN Children's Fund and the B&H Council of Ministers, which is a precondition for further UNICEF support, the B&H Ministry of Civil Affairs said.