01.12.2016.
Signing the Donation Agreement at the MMA
In the presence of State Secretary Nenad Nerić and the US Ambassador to Belgrade Kyle Scott, the Donation Agreement within the project of HIV/AIDS prevention and control was signed at the Military Medical Academy.The resources are intended for purchasing high quality PCR device and diagnostic tests for the MMA Institute of Medical Research, tests for a new study on sexually transmitted infections in the military population, as well as for the publishing of the second edition of the publication "Sexually transmitted infections and military population", but also the personal protective equipment for medical personnel participating in peacekeeping operations.
US Ambassador to Belgrade Kyle Scott pointed out that it was a great honor for him to announce a donation of equipment and materials worth more than 79 thousand US dollars on the International Day against AIDS.
- HIV and AIDS are threats to everyone, especially members of the army to be deployed to areas with an increased risk of becoming ill because the virus affects any color or uniform, and no one is immune to the consequences of the disease, Ambassador Scott said, adding that it was the plan of the US President, to combat these diseases globally having donated 52 billion dollars in 65 countries, thanks to which, among other things, more than 700 thousand children were born without HIV.
Scott expressed hope that joint action can change the world and that Serbia is one of 80 countries with which the US military is cooperating to stop the spread of HIV and AIDS.
Professor Vesna Suljagic from the MMA Department for Prevention and Control of Nosocomial Infections, assessed the cooperation with the USA, which lasts for more than a decade, to be very successful and pointed out that it significantly helps in better diagnosis of not only HIV but also other sexually and through blood transmitted infections.
- We will work on even earlier detection of infections, but also on prevention, not only among soldiers but also among health care workers who are increasingly involved in peacekeeping operations in Africa in recent years, where these diseases are endemically present, said Professor Suljagic.
Until now, starting from 2005, when the then Serbian and Montenegrin Armed Forces submitted for the first time the application to the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, US Department of Defense, for the project "HIV/AIDS prevention and control of the Serbian and Montenegrin Armed Forces", activities were executed and material goods purchased in the amount of USD 993,832.
Most of the funds were spent on the purchase of modern laboratory equipment and a full range of diagnostic tests for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections for the MMA Institute of Microbiology, Institute of Medical Research, Institute of Transfusion, Institute of Epidemiology and Military Hospital in Nis.
