The Ministry of Health and the Croatian Employment Service in Zagreb on Tuesday presented health institutions and organisations with HRK 7.7 million (€1 million) worth of grant agreements aimed at increasing public awareness of the importance of health promotion and disease prevention.

The agreements were presented as part of the project “Health Promotion and Disease Prevention – Phase 1” from the European Social Fund.

The total amount of the grants is HRK 27 million (€3.6 million), and today the first 12 successful applicants were granted 13 agreements worth HRK 7.7 million. EU funding will be used to promote healthy habits and good health, increase public awareness of the importance of preventing chronic contagious, non-contagious, rare and malignant diseases, and provide additional training for medical staff.

These projects will help health organisations throughout the country “to raise public awareness of how important it is for each of us to take measures to prevent numerous diseases, primarily cardiovascular ones,” Health Minister Milan Kujundzic said.

He said that smoking and alcohol were “the two greatest evils” affecting people’s health and family lives.

“I hope that through education people will become aware how harmful smoking and alcohol are and that in the years ahead far fewer Croats will suffer from diseases they could influence through prevention,” Kujundzic said.