A Swiss-Hungarian model project has been launched today to improve and expand basic services in Hungary’s underdeveloped regions, the organisers said on Wednesday.

3.7 billion forints (EUR 12.5m) will be made available over three years to the towns of Berettyóújfalu, Borsodnádasd, Heves and Jászapáti in Hungary’s northern and eastern areas. The programme also aims to involve Roma residents in public health programmes. Switzerland’s Ambassador to Hungary Jean-Francois Paroz said the programme was vitally important in the context of Hungary’s health-care reform.

Minister of State for Healthcare Miklós Szócska said the project would cover all basic services, yielding public health data to help professionals assess the conditions in Hungary’s underdeveloped regions.

(Ministry of Human Resources)