On 23 May 2023 a one-of-a-kind event for Serbia and the Balkan region took place in Belgrade, at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia headquarters: the “Fighting the organized theft of medicines in the Balkans and in the European Union through the MEDI-THEFT project” conference.
The opening ceremony was led by Mr. Pavle Zelic, ALIMS project manager, and Dr. Domenico Di Giorgio, AIFA representative.
They were followed by Dr. Maja Vuckovic-Krcmar speech, senior representative of the EU delegation in Serbia, who expressed her appreciation and support to future initiatives in the region.
The event gathered more than 150 participants coming from both the public and private pharmaceutical sectors, including national health authorities, as this was the first-ever conference on the topic in the Balkan region. Notably, 25 representatives of high-level delegations from national regulatory and competent authorities from seven countries in the region were present. The conference featured a presentation by Consortium members on the theft of medicines and the activities to counter this issue on a pan-European level through MEDI-THEFT project through the use of the MEDI-THEFT Platform.
A panel between representatives of Balkan projects’ current members sparked fruitful discussions and raised interest on future endeavours after the end of MEDI-THEFT project. Conference statements by project partners, such as Dr. Domenico Di Giorgio (AIFA), Dr. Snezana Mugosa (CInMED) and Mr. Pavle Zelic (ALIMS) achieved unprecedented media coverage in Serbia and in the region. A total of more than 70 reports on TV, newspaper, radio and online portals were published.
This extraordinary result allowed for a wider spread of awareness on the issue of theft of medicines and the MEDI-THEFT project in the Balkans.
The opportunity to learn more about the fight against illicit medicine trafficking highlighted the successful collaboration between the region and the EU in combating organized crime, and the commitment of all professionals and regulators involved to protect the health of communities in all Europe.