Primarius Goran Čerkez, MD

 

Work as Deputy to the Federal Ministry of Health, over twenty years of experience in public health, policy development and strategy, and community service. He specializes in field of mental health development in BiH. Goran Čerkez has led the mental health reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the establishing of Mental Health Services in the community as the director of the World Bank project in BiH. He participated in drafting the Action Plan for Mental Health of World Health Organization as the only expert in the region of Southeast Europe. He worked on the mental health strategy in BiH, development of standards and norms for mental health centers, development of accreditation standards, on the implementation of coordinated care and occupational therapy in mental health, on the development of psychosocial disaster support guides, the development of a matrix for the identification of the risk of violence school population, prevention of violence, as well as numerous other activities in the field of mental health. He worked with IOM and the Defense Ministry in BiH on the initiation of psychologists in the armed forces. For the past eight years he coordinated the mental health project in Bosnia and Herzegovina, implemented by XY, and supported by the Swiss government. Goran Čerkez is a invited lecturer on topics related to the development of mental health services at the Faculty of Medicine in Sarajevo, summer schools for health management organized by the United Nations Center for Peace, the Summer School for social workers in Dubrovnik, as well as the Faculty of Criminalistics, Criminology and Security Studies about juvenile violence. He also taught at Human Resources Development Week in the World Bank. As a mental health expert he worked with the World Bank, WHO, IOM and the Council of Europe, ITF, UNICEF, UNFP, Harward Refugee Trauma, the Southeast Europe Health Network and many NGOs. In the area of mental health in the region of Southeast Europe within the Stability Pact, he was a member of the Executive Board of the project "Strengthening Social Cohesion through Mental Health Development". More than 15 years representing Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Southeastern Europe Network, where he has been chairman of the executive committee for three years. Honorary member of the Association of Psychologists of FBiH. For contribution to the development of quality in health care, the development of accreditation standards in mental health awarded by AKAZ, and recognition for the development of health care in the Republic of Moldova. The holder of awards for the development of regional cooperation in South East Europe.