Laws That Are Not Applying in Health

At least 22 laws regulating the field and functioning of health have been adopted in recent years by the Kosovo Assembly.

But, as in other areas, law enforcement remains a separate challenge.

In the Ministry of Health, laws are being implemented to a satisfying extent, but health unionists say otherwise. According to the latter, laws are being adopted without calculating budgetary implications and then remaining on paper only.

On the other hand, officials from the Council for Protection of Freedoms and Human Rights say the laws in Kosovo are of European standards, but Kosovo's budget does not cover their full implementation.

Blerim Syla, chairman of the Federation of Health Union, tells Radio Free Europe that in addition to the unprecedented budgetary implications for law enforcement, there is also the factor that affects their failure to comply fully.

“As far as laws are concerned, they are approved years ago, but that many of them, in most cases, are not applicable in practice. So this damages health functionality properly”.

Some laws, I'm taking an example of the Odas of health professionals, don't function properly, precisely because of the whims of certain individuals. Otherwise, laws have nothing to do with politics, but politics is interfering with laws. After the approval, politics are interfering and seriously damaging”, Syla estimates.

At the same time, Aferdita Hoxha, legal officer at the Ministry of Health, suggests that it is the lack of budget and human resources that affects the complete failure of certain laws. However, it also says, they are not all laws that are not incompatible, since some of them apply in total.

“generally, laws that are in force are implemented, but some of them because of the cost and human resources are not implemented. For example, the Health Insurance Law due to a lack of human resources and capacity building, which is phased by the Ministry of Health, is currently unwilling to implement”, Hoxha says.

According to her, such a situation may no doubt have negative implications on citizens, since they are not offered adequate health services.

Meanwhile, Behxhet Shala from the Council for Protection of Freedoms and Human Rights tells Radio Free Europe that laws adopted by the Kosovo Assembly are in line with those of the European Union. But, Kosovo's budget is still too low to implement them.

Whatever law is adopted should also have the financial cost. And, basically, our laws adhere to European Union standards, and here lies the huge gap in what laws are adopted and cannot be implemented”.

The “E is impossible for Kosovo to cover these laws, as the budget is more social and law enforcement is imposed on the budget, which does not guarantee that it can finance these laws. Here they're showing up

problems and every government and ministers are trying to leave the burden to the ministers. Not because they don't want to follow the laws, but they can't apply”, Shala points out.

However, even officials from the World Health Organization in Kosovo, health laws that have been drafted in recent years, have described them as a good basis for further health reform, but have estimated that their implementation has been questioned.