FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 13, 1996 Health Care Alliance/USAID Seek US Health Care Institutions for Partnership Project in Bosnia-Herzegovina WASHINGTON, DC -- The American International Health Alliance, Inc. (AIHA) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announce the planned expansion of their health care partnership program with a new partnership in Tuzla, Bosnia- Herzegovina. AIHA is soliciting expressions of interest from qualified US hospitals and health care institutions willing to devote substantial in-kind resources, mainly in the form of human resources committed on a volunteer basis, to a two-year partnership with counterparts in Bosnia. The new health care partnership will be part of an ongoing health care development program financed through USAID and managed by AIHA which includes forty partnerships in nine countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and ten republics of the former Soviet Union. AIHA partnerships have enabled American health care providers to work with their colleagues abroad to address significant mortality and morbidity issues, improve health care organizations and introduce market-oriented solutions to health system delivery problems. The emphasis of the program is on professional exchanges involving physicians, nurses, administrators and technicians. AIHA partnerships also collaborate with related ministries of health, local and regional health systems administrations, and schools of health sciences to ensure that critical areas of health education and administration are adequately addressed at these higher institutional levels, and that the capacity to carry out other developmental assistance efforts is enhanced. The new partnership in Bosnia is intended to further USAID~s objective of promoting ethnic reconciliation and strengthening the on-going peace process. USAID and AIHA believe that the partnership will reinforce the credibility of the new Muslim-Croat Federation -- a cornerstone of the Dayton agreement -- by providing tangible evidence that the Federation can serve local needs. The Bosnia partnership will share certain goals with existing CEE partnerships, namely improving medical and technological knowledge, expanding the role of nursing, and enhancing institutional management and financing skills to develop in the Bosnian institution a capacity to sustain itself financially. Moreover, the partnership will develop community-based programs impacting the populations served by the Bosnian partner institutions by, for example, improving the delivery of primary care and strengthening linkages between hospital and primary care practitioners. According to USAID, the success of the Federation ultimately will depend on ~the political will of local communities of Croats and Bosniacs to devise the institutional means to begin their own recovery.~ At a later stage of the partnership, AIHA anticipates that the community-based programs will develop an active multi-sector community participation that would encourage local leaders to work together to determine local priorities and implement community-based intervention strategies. AIHA and USAID expect that the CEE partner will be located in Tuzla, a city in north-eastern Bosnia where the U.S. military presence is centered. The hospital component of the partnership may target critical medical/surgical procedures, emergency medicine, or rehabilitation at Tuzla~s teaching hospital in addition to management training and development. The focus of the partnership~s community outreach component will depend upon the priorities of the Bosnian partners. AIHA/USAID is not the principal funding source for partnership activities, but rather supplements the voluntary and in-kind contributions of the partners and their respective communities in the US and abroad. Existing AIHA partnerships have leveraged nearly three dollars of voluntary support for every US government dollar expended. AIHA/USAID funds will mainly support travel and other costs essential in establishing and realizing the full potential of a partnership program, including communication and interaction with other partnerships. AIHA staff in Washington, DC and in Europe will provide logistical support and assist in monitoring the progress of the partnership. Interested US partners must have the willingness and capacity to meet the specific health care delivery needs described above, and must satisfy the following criteria: * Be institution-based -- e.g., a hospital or group of hospitals; health care planning consortium sponsoring a healthy communities project; other institutions engaged in the implementation and/or the evaluation of a healthy communities project. If a group of institutions is involved, a lead institution must be designated; * Be supported by the institution~s senior leadership and Board and clearly identify an overall partnership coordinator; * Make a substantial voluntary commitment to the partnership through a significant contribution of resources, including human resources; * Actively involve the local community served by the US partners, including any significant emigre community that may be present; * Share information openly and participate fully in AIHA~s efforts to exchange information with other US/CEE and US/NIS partnerships through the AIHA Partnership Clearinghouse and dissemination conferences and seminars; * Adhere to AIHA~s rigorous objective-setting and results- oriented approach, including: (a) Enter into a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and work within the overall coordination and guidance of AIHA and its designated program coordinator; (b) Develop demonstration-type interventions with significant training components and capacity for replication; (c) Establish mechanisms (such as training programs and conferences) for the diffusion of partnership successes; and (d) Participate in regular program evaluations to assess partnership progress and achievements. Hospitals or health care institutions wishing to be considered for participation in the new Bosnia partnership should send a short statement (10 pages maximum) by JUNE 15, 1996 detailing their interest and ability to enter into a collaborative relationship with a Bosnian partner under the AIHA model. The statement should describe the institution~s commitment to the partnership program, the human and material resources it will devote to a partnership, and specific strengths of the institution that enhance its ability to address the needs of the Bosnian partner. Working with USAID and an outside advisory panel, AIHA will select the institution or group of institutions which best match the needs of the Bosnian partner, best fulfill the criteria listed above, and offer the greatest potential for sustaining a partnership beyond the availability of AIHA funding. Statements should be directed to : Mr. Donn Rubin Program Director, Central & Eastern Europe American International Health Alliance, Inc. 1212 New York Avenue, NW, Suite 750 Washington, DC 20005 For additional information contact Mr. Rubin, or Elizabeth Schroth, Program Analyst. Telephone: (202) 789-1136; Facsimile: (202) 789-1277. # # # # #