Kosovo Human Development Report 2010 - UNDP Kosovo - United ...

the same levels of difficulties as women
in accessing health care services.
(iv) Lack of public health information:
good health is an outcome of good
health awareness as much as good
medical treatment. However, in Kosovo,
health information – particularly in
the field of nutrition – is not so easy to
source. Good health nutritional information
is particularly critical for women
who are pregnant or raising young
children. Unfortunately, Kosovo has
not mobilized its resources to enable
this vulnerable group to make critical
choices about lifestyle, health, food
and supplementation. Kosovo’s low
rate of exclusive breastfeeding, for example,
as well as the widespread prac-
Table
4.4
• Distance to doctor’s office/ hospital/
medical centre;
• Delay in getting appointment;
• Waiting time to see doctor on day of
appointment;
• Cost of seeing the doctor; and
• Cost of buying medicines.
Factors that constrain access to health care, by gender
Source: Kosovo Mosaic Survey, UNDP 2009
There is no health insurance for people
with disabilities. All necessary treatments
need payments as there are no such
supplies provided by public health facilities.
The social assistance from government is
very low to help with access to health care.
Disabled participant of a focus
group
tice of smoking during pregnancy
and smoking around young children,
speaks to a clear lack of knowledge
throughout the population. Informa-
tion in the public domain is often not
sufficiently targeted towards those
that need it most. This is despite clear
evidence that the right information on
nutrition combined with concerted
supplementation and fortification efforts
can make a tremendous difference
to dangerous nutritional deficiencies.
In 2001, for example, iodized
salt was available to only 84 percent
of households, and only 51 percent
of pregnant women and young children
showed normal values of urinary
iodine excretion. In 2007, after a
major public information campaign,
95 percent of families were using optimally
iodized salt and 95 percent of
pregnant women and children had
urine iodine excretion meeting most
Gender
Male Female Total
no factors 15.4% 15.1% 15.2%
1 of the factors 17.3% 18.2% 17.8%
2 of the factors 17.3% 17.2% 17.2%
3 of the factors 13.4% 13.3% 13.3%
4 of the factors 9.3% 9.5% 9.4%
All the factors 27.3% 26.7% 27.0%
Total 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
international standards for elimination
of iodine deficiency. However,
action on one nutrient alone is not
enough. As things stand today, many
women still die while giving birth to
their babies in Kosovo. In 2008, there
were 12 reported cases of maternal
deaths in Kosovo. 137
(v) Environmental degradation: environmental
degradation is widespread
in Kosovo – a consequence of pollutants,
a weak waste management
system, rampant and irresponsible
HEALTH CARE SERVICES AND EXCLUSION | 71