Partnership Between NIS and the Community For New Hopes to Be Born

Asuccessful partnership between businesses and the community is one of the foundations of joint progress. The partnership that the NIS Company has been building with local communities in Serbia is based on the implementation of projects related to public health and social protection, science and education, environmental protection, and culture and sports, which are of particular importance for the development and comprehensive progress of the entire society. With this goal, the NIS Company has invested more than 4.9 billion dinars in socially responsible projects and support for professional and youth sports since 2009.

In 2022, NIS was also committed to topics of essential importance for the future of the community. In line with the national priorities - improving reproductive health and increasing the birth rate - NIS carried out a nationwide campaign called “For New Hopes to be Born”, aimed at supporting healthcare institutions, couples, and parents with a unique goal – to facilitate birth rate by couples having as many babies, our new hopes, as possible, in the years to come.

During the campaign, NIS supported 40 healthcare facilities in more than 30 towns and municipalities across Serbia.

In the first segment of the campaign, implemented under the auspices of the Common Cause Community programme, NIS supported the implementation of 22 projects in 13 partner cities and municipalities, including healthcare facilities in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Niš, Čačak, Pančevo, Požarevac, Kikinda, Zrenjanin, Kanjiža, Srbobran, Žitište, Novi Bečej and Veliko Gradište, who all received stateof-the-art medical equipment. These included ultrasound and

CTG devices, equipment for embryological laboratories and surgical interventions, gynaecological tables and chairs for people with disabilities, as well as incubators for newborns. Also, local self-governments received support in launching public calls for co-financing the costs of couples undergoing in vitro fertilization. The total value of these projects amounted to almost 1 million euros.

One of the institutions supported by NIS is the Narodni Front Gynecology and Obstetrics Clinic, where approximately 7.500 births are carried out annually and which received equipment worth over 11 million dinars from NIS. Professor Željko Miković, MD, Acting Director of Narodni Front, thanked NIS for understanding the needs of this important institution. “Thanks to a donation from the NIS, we now have a state-of-the-art inverted microscope with a micromanipulator which will be of great assistance to our Embryological Laboratory of the Department of Artificial Reproductive Techniques with the daycare hospital. The existing equipment has worn out, and with the new microscope and micromanipulator, we will be able to increase the number of couples involved in the procedure, so we can achieve the goal of having 1,000 patients undergoing IVF. In this way, we are going to make even more couples happy and hopeful in their struggle to have children. We thank you for providing support, both to us in our work and to our couples, with the goal of increasing the birth rate in the Republic of Serbia”, Professor Miković said.

The second segment of the For New Hopes to be Born campaign generated support for eight maternity hospitals in south and east Serbia thanks to the philanthropic activities of the NIS Company and its employees, who gave their exceptional contribution and showed that a lot can really be achieved through joint effort and a lot of love. The collected funds will be spent on providing the latest equipment for healthcare facilities in Prokuplje, Pirot, Majdanpek, Leskovac, Surdulica, Kladovo, Knjaževac, and Negotin.

The third segment and the crowning achievement of the For New Hopes to be Born cam- paign was implemented during the New Year’s holidays, with a joint campaign of the company and the NIS Volunteer Club. Then 225 gifts for 15 babies born first in 2023 were handed out in 15 selected maternity hospitals throughout Serbia. On this occasion, NIS brought joy to the parents of newborn boys and girls in Kruševac, Vranje, Zaječar, Leskovac, Bor, Ćuprija, Paraćin, Knjaževac, Sremska Mitrovica, Užice, Pirot, Loznica, Šabac, Vršac, and Valjevo.

For New Hopes to be Born, the campaign generated much public interest. Among other things, Diplomacy & Commerce magazine declared campaign “the best socially responsible campaign” in the country. “Supporting the community in which we live, and work is a principle that we have been sticking to for 14 years now, despite all the challenges. Investing in the future is our long-lasting determination and our privilege”, NIS says and adds that in the coming years, the company will continue to expand its partnership with the community as one of its priorities in order to improve the quality of life of people in Serbia.