The Health Ministry said on Sunday, World Day of the Sick, that Croatia is among the first countries in the European Union to launch a prostate cancer early detection programme, and that a pilot phase, which will cover 10,000 men in Zagreb and Zagreb County, will start soon.

The pilot program is planned to last one year. It will be carried out in health centers, while the KBC Zagreb hospital and the Sisters of Mercy hospital have been selected for additional diagnostics and treatment.

More than €300,000 have been secured for the pilot phase , which will include men between 55 and 69, when the incidence of prostate cancer increases. The goal is to detect potential bottlenecks in the health system and determine measures for successful implementation of the programme at the national level.