Middle East, North Africa and Europe
Bosnia and Herzegovina ranks 73 out of 189 on the Human Development Index (HDI). CARE International’s work in Bosnia and Herzegovina seeks to help build sustainable peace and development in the region.
CARE International has been working in the Balkans, including in Bosnia and Herzegovina, since 1993, initially providing humanitarian aid for refugees and victims of war.
Today, CARE International works in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Albania and seeks to help build sustainable peace and development in the region.
Our programs support economic activities on regional levels, peace and reconciliation efforts, integration of minorities, and the creation of opportunities for young people.
We place special focus on working with vulnerable groups, including women and girls, Roma communities, and poor farmers to promote social and economic rights for all.
Since 2020, CARE International has been responding to COVID-19 in the Balkans. Response efforts have included mobilizing national civil society organizations to inform communities in methods to prevent the spread of COVID-19, as well as providing equipment and support to healthcare institutions serving marginalized populations.
As the US is bracing for Inauguration day in the wake of shocking violence on January 6, the partners CARE works with in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, and Serbia are celebrating some of the successes they have had running programs to counter violent extremism, especially with young men.
When young people are granted the opportunity to lead, they find ways to connect, to support, and to make changes—not just now, but for the future.
Since the closure of the Balkan route in early 2016, the border to Serbia is hardly passable. More and more refugees cross to Bosnia and Herzegovina instead, hoping to reach Croatia and travel on to the Schengen Zone and Northern Europe. At the moment, there is an average of 100 to 150 people crossing the border every day. Since January 2018, more than 4,870 people have arrived in Bosnia and Herzegovina – as many as in the entire previous year.
In FY2024, CARE worked around the world, contributing to saving lives, fighting poverty, and increasing social justice.
