For seven days women from Suto Orizari do not have a family gynecologist in the municipality. With the departure of the sole practitioner of reproductive health, they say, they are coming back a decade when their struggle for basic access to services of this type began.
Over 8,000 patients in the only gynecological practice in Suto Orizari have been locked for a week. They say they received a notification without notice that Dr. Vjolcza Mbjara is leaving for work in the Cento neighborhood. The Women's Initiative states that they have the right to equal and unhindered access to reproductive health services.
The previous doctor came from Albania three years ago. He was appointed by the Ministry of Health and received subsidies because he was not interested in gynecologists working in the area. Such treatment in a municipality with a predominantly Roma population constitutes discrimination, say civic activists. They asked the Minister of Health if there was a solution to this burning problem. If no quick solution is found, they warn of adverse effects on the reproductive health of Shuto Orizari women.
Health Minister Venko Filipce also made the announcement. She says the doctor has decided to leave alone. He is talking to several institutions to see if a gynecologist can provide the rotation system and, if he cannot, he announced that a budget for additional stimulation will be provided with the Health Ministry program.
