Latif: We have clear vision of what the health system will look like in 5-10 years.

Health Minister Rifat Latifi declared today that it takes years for Kosovo medicine to be at the right level to reach European standards.

At a news conference after meeting with Eurodeputt Lucas Mandl, Latifi said the health care system needs a solid partnership with European institutions.

He said they already have clear vision of what the health system will look like after the next 5-10 years.

The government of the Republic of Kosovo is the main provider of health services in the country... Since there has been some progress for 23 years, since the end of the war there are still great needs of unfulfilled health care. Inequality in health, hospital infrastructure, lack of technical advancement, clinical expertise, and some legislative issues are some of the needs. As a result of these factors, a significant number of our citizens are seeking health care abroad... We've done analysis, created medium- and long-term strategies based on evidence and clinical needs of the Republic of Kosovo that address all these issues. We have clear vision of what the health system will look like after the next 5-10 years”, Latifi said.

To build health we must have our plans... We don't have that, we don't really have the Law for Scientific Communication, so we started with the signaling of the Center for Scientific Research in which there will be many other trainings like Laparoscopic, which is one of those centers that I'm mentioning. We have no place to train our doctors, our nurses, medical faculty students to specialise in Laparoscope”, he said.

Austrian MEP Lucas Mandl said the Auschwitz-Kosovo Friendship Association is focused on the health field.

According to him, the area of mother-child care is also in the plans of Minister Latifi, who, as he said, enables progress to be achieved in this area even in Kosovo.

“The Austro-Kosovo Friendship Association, which was founded in 2015, since the first day has been focused on health, created a health chapter involving doctors from various fields, experts, people from the academy, also from different groups of interested parties when it comes to health care, and Elizabeth's leadership... who is leading the health chapter of the Austrian-Kosovo Friendship Association became together to reach Kosovo and move forward in many areas, especially in the field of child care, something that is also known in the minister's plans, in the way that is achieved in the progress, and in other areas of Kosovo, he said, in the United States.

He said that thanks to the new population having Kosovo could become a “European Silicon Valley”