After every war, societies has to face lots of new challenges. They have to rebuild infraestructures, solve economic crises, take care of the population… In fact, the Kosovar health system needed a big help after the Serbian government left it very deteriorated.

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After the war  

• The life expectancy was 66,951 years old.

• Around 12000 people died because of the war (1998-1999).

• Right afterwards, 53.2% of deaths were from non-communicable diseases .  

• Twelve percent of  deaths were from communicable diseases .

• In 1999, the Infant Mortality Rate (deaths of children under one year of age) was 45 deaths per 1000 births, which was the highest in Europe.

• One year later, it was around 29 per thousand.

 

Today

• The life expectancy is 71,64 years old.

• 62,7% of deaths related to circulatory diseases.

• 14,7% of diceases were because of tumors.

• 5,4 % of deaths were related to respiratory diseases.

• The Infant Mortality Rate is still the highest in Europe with 11 deaths per 1000 births.

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Although the situation still isn’t optimal, these changes to have a better quality of life wouldn’t have been possible without international financial support that Kosovo received. Also, inside the country, several organizations were created to help with these problems. One example was AMC Health (Action for Mothers and Children) that claims they have always been at the forefront of the battle to bring the number of the child mortality rate down.  They also think that “too many children are still dying needlessly and senselessly”, and that they should keep fighting even more than they were after the first years of war because the support of various international agencies and NGOs have diminished in Kosovo.

 

AMC Health have contacted Windesheim Honours College to work with them and fight together on this battlefront for nine weeks. Five students will go to this country to deal with the difficulties of women and children in rural areas. Kosovo’s health care centres mainly exist in bigger cities, so people who live in the countryside cannot go to health care centres when they need. Such a shortage resulted in the highest rate of infant mortality.  

 

Team Kosovo will research and help create a health care centre that will be able to move around to rural areas and assist mothers educating then in family planning from the early pregnancy to postpartum period.

 

Before leaving, the students were very enthusiastic about their mission, they said they were going to help the country in a very crucial moment because “probably, in 10 years, Kosovo won’t be the same place that it is today”.