Kosovo’s acting Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, accompanied by Acting Health Minister Arben Vitia, visited the Kosovo Medical Chamber today. After meeting with the Chamber’s representatives, Kurti said the good news is a significant decline in the number of doctors leaving the country and in requests for treatment abroad.

He highlighted the cooperation between the Kosovo Medical Chamber and the Ministry of Health, noting that in the past six months, 50 doctors from the Serbian community have been licensed by the Chamber.

“So far, the Medical Chamber has nearly 5,500 licensed doctors. About 150 of these are from non-majority communities, and the very interesting news is that in the past six months, around 50 Serbian community doctors have been licensed by the Chamber, integrating into our health system for the benefit of patients regardless of ethnicity. Another very positive development is the significant decline in doctors leaving the country, as well as requests for treatment abroad. I believe that the close cooperation between the Medical Chamber and the Ministry of Health has produced these results,” he said.

Kurti also spoke about serious challenges the healthcare system will face in the coming years due to a shortage of doctors, particularly in family medicine.

“One of the challenges we must address, which cannot be solved immediately, is that out of these nearly 5,500 licensed doctors, about 1,600 will retire in the next 10 years. Therefore, we need to replace them with new doctors, especially in family medicine, where we have shortages, and particularly in certain municipalities of Kosovo,” Kurti emphasized.

The Chairman of the Chamber’s Board, Faik Shatri, expressing willingness for cooperation, stated that this is the first time a Prime Minister has visited the Kosovo Medical Chamber.

“This is the first time a Prime Minister has visited the Medical Chamber. We discussed the Chamber’s developments over the years, its achievements, and the challenges ahead. We assured the Prime Minister and the Minister that we are close partners in developing Kosovo’s healthcare system, improving the health of the population, and enhancing the quality of services,” Shatri said.