For the first time, women from the Pelagonia region will be able to access medication abortion services close to where they live. A counselling centre has opened at the „Dr Trifun Panovski" Clinical Hospital in Bitola - the second of its kind in the public health system, after the one in Skopje.

The significance is bigger than it sounds at first glance. Until now, women from Pelagonia and the surrounding regions - especially those from rural areas and more marginalised communities - had to travel to Skopje for this service. That meant time, money and logistical hurdles that for some were reason enough not to seek timely healthcare at all. With the counselling centre opening in Bitola, those barriers are being significantly reduced.

The centre is set up on the model that has been running since 2021 at the University Clinic for Gynaecology and Obstetrics in Skopje, in partnership with the health association HERA. The space has been adapted, medical equipment procured and health staff trained. The head of the gynaecology department, Dr Mihajlo Vangelov, stressed that patients will now be able to receive a complete service „in a safe, confidential and dignified environment", in line with World Health Organization recommendations.

The hospital's director, Dr Nensi Lozanče, described the step as a public health institution's duty to keep developing services for citizens. And here is the point that rarely gets said out loud: access to reproductive health shouldn't depend on how close you live to Skopje. A health service that exists only in the capital isn't a service for the whole country - it's a privilege for those who can travel. Every step that brings care closer to people, wherever they live, is worth more than any statement about „equal access".