Address by the President of the Republic of Srpska at the opening ceremony of the 5th Congress of Cardiologists of the Republic of Srpska with international participation
Address by the President of the Republic of Srpska Željka Cvijanović at the opening ceremony of the 5th Congress of Cardiologists of the Republic of Srpska with international participation:
Dear participants,
Dear guests,
Thank you for the invitation to attend the 5th Congress of Cardiologists of the Republic of Srpska. I am here to express the institutional support for your work, gathering, activism and the efforts you are making to protect the health of our population.
We are grateful that for years, persistently and constantly, you have raised the awareness that cardiovascular diseases are one of the leading, if not the most common cause of death of our citizens.
However, you are not saying that to intimidate someone and spread panic among the population, but to draw attention to the importance of heart disease prevention, the importance of a healthier and more appropriate lifestyle, but also many other factors that, I believe, you will talk more about at this gathering.
The primary task of the institutions is to provide the health system as a whole, including cardiology, with the best possible working conditions.
The development of every profession, especially medicine, which is rapidly advancing in the world, requires serious investments both in staff education and in modern equipment for diagnostics and treatment.
We have done a lot in that regard in the previous period. During the last ten years, we have built, reconstructed and equipped numerous regional hospitals throughout the Republic of Srpska, and the construction of the newest ones, in Doboj, will be completed soon.
We have opened new opportunities for additional training of our medical workers and experts, established significant contacts and cooperation with reference health institutions in the world, so that our health system and the services it provides are at a far higher level than before and able to follow modern world trends and achievements in the field of medicine.
We have paid special attention and directed the most of resources to the University Clinical Centre of the Republic of Srpska, including the development of cardiology, so that, in a broader regional sense, this health institution is one of the best equipped and most developed, thanks to the huge investments of the Government of the Republic of Srpska, as well as to the dedicated work of our medical staff.
I am proud of everything we have done together, but we are all aware that there are still many challenges ahead.
The Coronavirus pandemic, which we have been fighting for a year and a half now, has reminded us that the health care system is one of the pillars on which every society rests.
The President also reminded us that many silent heroes in white coats live among us, standing on the front line, carrying the biggest burden of the pandemic on their backs.
Unfortunately, some of your colleagues are no longer with us, because in the days and months when hospitals were full of patients, they took care of them, sacrificing themselves, their health and their lives. That is why we owe them eternal gratitude.
I wish to thank you, as well as all your fellow health workers, for your dedicated work on improving the health of our population.
We are also grateful to the Association of Cardiologists of the Republic of Srpska, which gives our experts the opportunity to exchange experiences in this way and discuss new achievements in the field of cardiology.
It is my special pleasure since I announce the 5th Congress of Cardiologists open, and I wish you, the participants, a successful work!