Swedish Medical Programme

Swedish Medical Teams & Medical Emergency Assistance for Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo

​The Swedish Medical Programe (SMP) is an ongoing collaborative effort between the Swedish Government and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), in continuous implementation since 1999. The program facilitates local capacity building to diagnose, treat, and care for medical and surgical patients, for whom such services are not available or adequate in Kosovo. Through the years of implementation, the aim of the SMP has changed, evolving from medical referrals and evacuation of patients from Kosovo to Sweden and Kosovo to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) to capacity building, training, and enabling the local professionals to realize greater achievements, with the assistance of the Swedish Medical Team (SMT) and ultimately improve their independent performance.

In 2004, the Swedish Government’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs allocated part of its budget for global development to the Medical Centre for Refugees within the County Council of Östergötland to continue the SMP. Strengthening paediatric cardio surgery in Bosnia and Herzegovina and enhancing regional cooperation through medical evacuation of children with cardiac diseases from Kosovo to Bosnia and Herzegovina was financially supported by the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA). One of the main activities in 2012-2013 was giving support to the Ministry of Health of Kosovo in the reform of the Public Health Services in Kosovo. 

Achievements of the SMP programme in Kosovo 2000-2009:

• 92 patients successfully evacuated to Sweden;
• 211 visits by 43 Swedish doctors, nurses and biomedical engineers to Kosovo;
• Over 1136 patients have been examined and 215 patients have been operated locally;
• 40 Kosovar health professionals have attended training sessions in Sweden;
• Techniques improved for optimal use of available equipment and care.