Treatment of addicts in Bosnia and Herzegovina--constraints and opportunities.

SUMMARY Chronology of important historical events in Bosnia and Herzegovina during past two centuries indirectly influenced the incidence and prevalence of different psychoactive substances use and thus the organization of services for the treatment of persons who develop addiction symptoms. The organization of health system in the last war, 1992-1995, suffered enormous damage and the reform process which inevitably followed, included the area of mental health care services and the establishment of network of centers for mental health in the community (CMHC). The centers are functioning within the primary health care almost in whole country, with specialized centers for the prevention and treatment of addicts and the therapeutic communities, which today represents the basic organizational units to help people who have drug related issues. In this paper we will present the possibility of treatment of drug addicts in Bosnia and Herzegovina, from consulting services, psycho-education and early detection of disease, detoxification and substitution programs with Methadone and Suboxone, as well as programs of rehabilitation and resocialization. Although a very complicated political and administrative structure of the country, insufficient financial support, pronounced stigmatization of addicts, insufficient staffing and number of treatment centers are objective obstacles for progress in treatment of addicts, we believe that, with existing resources, these constraints can be converted into new opportunities in terms of improvement of treatment options in the future.