ICRC News 00/01
Work has started this week on rebuilding
the Children's Tuberculosis and Lung Disease Centre at Belgrade's Dragisa
Hospital, which was heavily damaged in the NATO air campaign last year.
The Centre has 100 beds.
The $750,000 project, undertaken by the Finnish Red Cross, should be completed by May.
The Finnish Red Cross has completed similar work at medical facilities in Kosovo, mainly in the town of Gnjilan. It has also provided equipment and an administration team for the regional hospital there.
Their work has brought the Finns face to face with the effects of the conflicts in both areas. "For all the differences," says Marja-Leena Oraby, the medical coordinator, "the needs are much the same in Belgrade and Kosovo, both in medical terms - health-care facilities needing repair, etc. - and in psychological and material terms since the general population are still suffering trauma from the war while trying to cope with the hardships of everyday life. I am pleased to see the Red Cross family working together throughout the region to meet as many different needs as possible."