Thursday morning

We had two very important meetings with key people in the mental health system here in Gjilan. We met with the director of the Center for Mental Health. There are 6 centers, out of the 7 municipalities (counties) here. It was a lovely building, with room for a ping pong table. As we entered, people were dancing to traditional Albanian music. It appears that there are a few really major issues here in Kosovo. The first is that the Ministry of health has decided that they no longer have a budget for medications, so most people go without the very expensive medications. The budget issues have caused many problems here, including decreased funding for the centers. They act as satellites, serving the surrounding areas. They have had to stop providing meals and travel costs for patients that live far distances, only being able to provide the main services for those nearby. The director is a very intelligent dedicated man. Interestingly, he serves people at Shtimle, the institution.
We then met with the psychiatrist from the main hospital here in Gjilan. He is dedicated to supporting both the centers here, and the Children's program. They have no inpatient program for children, only day services two days a week. Tomorrow is the main meeting, and I expect that it will be very interesting. I'm looking forward to it! I'll post the final report soon!