The EU border between Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina is on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe due to the influx of migrants, including those carrying dangerous contagious diseases, Nermina Cemalovic, the health minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina's border canton Una-Sana, told Sputnik
BELGRADE (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th December, 2019) The EU border between Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina is on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe due to the influx of migrants, including those carrying dangerous contagious diseases, Nermina Cemalovic, the health minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina's border canton Una-Sana, told Sputnik.
There are now 3,500 migrants stranded in refugee camps near Bosnia and Herzegovina's border with Croatia, and another 2,500 are believed to be staying in the wider border regions.
"We are worried about the spread of diseases, contamination of our citizens ... We are on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe where a state of emergency will be required. I want to stress that we are on the threshold," the health minister said.
According to Cemalovic, migrants with HIV pose a particular threat to security and health conditions in the camps, since even one contamination case would force doctors to check surrounding areas and run tests on other people.
Since 2015, Europe has been experiencing its worst migration crisis in recent history, and is struggling to accommodate hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants fleeing hostilities in the middle East and North Africa.
Though the Western Balkan migrant route leading from Greece through Macedonia and Serbia to Croatia was closed in 2016, migrants continue to cross into the continent through a new Balkan route, increasing pressure on the reception capacities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, and Montenegro.
