The Institute for Health Care of Mother and Child of Serbia "Dr. Vukan Čupić"
A major Serbian pediatric and maternal healthcare institute in Belgrade serving as a national reference center for women of reproductive age and children.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
The Institute for Health Care of Mother and Child of Serbia "Dr. Vukan Čupić" is a major public healthcare and teaching institution in Belgrade, located in the municipality of Novi Beograd. Its work focuses on the health of women of reproductive age, newborns, preschool children, school-age children, and adolescents. The institute is regarded as one of the largest and most significant pediatric hospitals in Serbia and the wider region. The institution was created in 1950 by a decree of the Government of the People's Republic of Serbia, then part of the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia. Its original mission was broader than the operation of a single hospital: it was intended to organize and develop a national network of healthcare institutions for women of reproductive age and for children before and during school age. In 1993 and 1995, decisions of Serbia's Ministry of Health designated the institute as a national reference institution for the healthcare of women of reproductive age, preschool children, and school children. The institute has occupied its present site since 1974. Its structure includes a Pediatric Clinic, a Clinic for Pediatric Surgery, a Human Reproduction Service, a National Center for Family Planning, a Service for Scientific Research and Educational Activities, a Service for Organization, Planning, Evaluation, and Medical Informatics, and a Service for Non-Medical Affairs. This combination gives the institution responsibilities spanning clinical care, surgery, reproductive and family-planning services, research, education, administration, and health-system coordination. Its pediatric capabilities include specialist and complex care, while pediatric surgery covers operative treatment and related disciplines. The institute also houses services associated with invasive diagnosis, interventional cardiology, and the examination and treatment of heart and blood-vessel diseases. Its Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and Burns is led by the institute's director, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Radoje Simić. The deputy director, Prof. Dr. Vladislav Vukomanović, is a pediatrician and cardiologist who heads the Pediatric Clinic and the department responsible for invasive diagnosis and interventional cardiology. Education and research are central to the institute's public role. It serves as a teaching base for the Faculty of Medicine in Belgrade, supporting the practical education of future general practitioners, pediatricians, pediatric surgeons, gynecologists, and anesthesiologists. The institution is also supported by an ethics committee, a management board, and a supervisory board. Dr. Katarina Sedlecki heads the Ethics Committee, Dr. Dušan Jovanović heads the Management Board, and lawyer Miloš Čavić heads the Supervisory Board, according to the referenced institutional account. The institute has received substantial philanthropic and institutional support for infrastructure and medical equipment. A testamentary gift of one million Canadian dollars from Đuro and Ilinka Trifunović in 2015 funded the renovation of three departments, including laboratories for metabolic disorders, microbiology, and pathology. That year, Serbia's Ministry of Health also supported reconstruction of the hematology-oncology department. More recent donations have included diagnostic, treatment, climate-control, sleep-monitoring, and patient-support equipment from companies, foundations, authors, and community campaigns. These initiatives illustrate the institute's role not only as a healthcare provider but also as a recurring focus of Serbian humanitarian and corporate-giving activity.
History
The institute was established in 1950 through a decree of the Government of the People's Republic of Serbia, at a time when Serbia formed part of the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia. Its founding purpose was to organize and develop a national network of healthcare institutions serving women of reproductive age, preschool children, and school children. The institution was therefore conceived as a central component of public health planning rather than solely as a local hospital. The institute has been located at its current Belgrade site since 1974. Over time, it developed into a large multidisciplinary center combining pediatric medicine, pediatric surgery, reproductive healthcare, family planning, research, education, informatics, and administrative services. The institute is named for Vukan Čupić, a Serbian physician who served as its long-term director. Its national role was formally strengthened in 1993 and 1995, when decisions of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Serbia designated it as a national reference institution for women of reproductive age, preschool children, and school children. This reference function placed the institute within Serbia's national specialist-care infrastructure and helped distinguish it from a general local hospital. The institutional structure comprises seven principal organizational units: the Pediatric Clinic, the Clinic for Pediatric Surgery, the Human Reproduction Service, the National Center for Family Planning, the Service for Scientific Research and Educational Activities, the Service for Organization, Planning, Evaluation, and Medical Informatics, and the Service for Non-Medical Affairs. The clinical departments cover both routine and highly specialized care, including pediatric cardiology, invasive diagnosis, interventional cardiology, and plastic and reconstructive surgery and burns. Education has remained an important part of the institute's role. It serves as a teaching base for the Faculty of Medicine in Belgrade, providing practical training for future general practitioners, pediatricians, pediatric surgeons, gynecologists, and anesthesiologists. Its research and educational service complements this teaching function, while the ethics, management, and supervisory bodies provide institutional governance. Renovation and equipment programs have been supported by both public funding and philanthropy. In 2015, a testamentary gift from Canadian-based donors Đuro and Ilinka Trifunović supported the renovation of three departments and laboratories serving metabolic-disorder, microbiology, and pathology work. The Ministry of Health also funded reconstruction of the hematology-oncology department in the same year. In the 2020s, donations from DM Serbia, the Meridian Foundation, Laguna, NORBS Plus, and community-led humanitarian initiatives supplied clinical devices, environmental equipment, sleep-diagnostic technology, wheelchairs, instruments, and other supplies. These activities reflect the institute's continuing dependence on a combination of state support and charitable contributions to improve clinical infrastructure. The institute's current leadership includes Director Assoc. Prof. Dr. Radoje Simić, a pediatric surgeon, and Deputy Director Prof. Dr. Vladislav Vukomanović, a pediatrician and cardiologist. The institution remains positioned as a Serbian national center for maternal and child health, with responsibilities spanning specialist treatment, surgery, reproductive care, education, research, and public-health coordination.
- 2024
New charitable equipment initiatives
[1]The institute received air-purification and climate-control equipment from the Meridian Foundation and a polysomnograph supported by Laguna and NORBS Plus.
- 2023
DM Serbia equipment donation
[1]DM Serbia supplied diagnostic, treatment, and climate-control equipment.
- 2015
Major renovation support received
[1]A testamentary donation supported renovations in three departments and associated laboratories, while the Ministry of Health funded reconstruction of the hematology-oncology department.
- 1995
National reference role reaffirmed
[1]A further Ministry of Health decision continued the institute's national reference role for women of reproductive age and children.
- 1993
Recognized as a national reference institution
[1]A Serbian Ministry of Health decision designated the institute as a national reference institution for specified maternal and child health services.
- 1974
Moved to its current site
[1]The institute began operating at its present location in Novi Beograd.
- 1950
Institute established by government decree
[1]The Government of the People's Republic of Serbia established the institute to help organize and develop a national healthcare network for women of reproductive age and children.
Products and positioning
A national-reference public medical institution combining advanced pediatric care, pediatric surgery, reproductive and maternal healthcare, education, and research.
Pediatric medicine
Pediatric Clinic
The Pediatric Clinic is one of the institute's principal clinical units and provides specialist medical care for children. It includes services associated with complex pediatric assessment and treatment, including pediatric cardiology and the examination and management of heart and blood-vessel diseases.
Pediatric surgery
Clinic for Pediatric Surgery
The Clinic for Pediatric Surgery provides surgical care for children within the institute's national specialist-care system. The institute's surgical work also includes plastic and reconstructive surgery and treatment related to burns.
Reproductive healthcare
Human Reproduction Service
The Human Reproduction Service addresses healthcare related to human reproduction and forms part of the institute's broader maternal and reproductive-health mission.
Family planning
National Center for Family Planning
The National Center for Family Planning provides family-planning-related services and supports the institute's national responsibilities for women of reproductive age.
Medical education and research
Scientific Research and Educational Activities
This organizational service supports research and education. The institute is a teaching base for the Faculty of Medicine in Belgrade and trains students and future specialists in several medical disciplines.
Marketing campaigns
- 2024Meridian Foundation From the Heart with Love support
Serbia
The Meridian Foundation continued its charitable support for the institute, including a 2024 donation of air purifiers and climate-control devices for several departments.
Outcome. The donated equipment was intended to improve environmental conditions for patients and staff.
- 2024Laguna and NORBS Plus polysomnograph initiative
Serbia
Laguna redirected money associated with its 25th-anniversary celebrations to humanitarian use and collaborated with the NORBS Plus Foundation to obtain a polysomnograph for the institute.
Outcome. The device expanded the institute's equipment for diagnosing sleep-disordered breathing.
- Wooden Dolls humanitarian equipment campaign
Serbia
Writer Đorđe Mitrović worked with the Human Heart Foundation to raise money for equipment for the institute. Proceeds from his book Wooden Dolls were combined with contributions from friends in Prokuplje.
Outcome. The campaign funded wheelchairs, medical instruments, backpacks, and first-aid supplies.
Brand decisions
1995
National reference designationStrategyBackground
The Ministry of Health formalized the institute's role within Serbia's specialist maternal and child healthcare system.
Action taken
The institute's national reference role was reaffirmed for women of reproductive age, preschool children, and school children.
Aftermath
The designation reinforced the institute's position as a central Serbian referral and teaching institution.
1950
Creation of a national maternal and child health institutionStrategyBackground
The Serbian government sought to organize and expand a national network serving women of reproductive age and children.
Action taken
It established the institute by government decree with a national healthcare-development mandate.
Aftermath
The institute developed into a major multidisciplinary pediatric and maternal healthcare center and later received national reference status.
Recent events
- 2024
Meridian Foundation provides air purifiers and climate-control equipment[1]
Campaign · Other
The Meridian Foundation donated air purifiers and climate-control devices for several hospital departments as part of its continuing support activities.
- 2024
Laguna and NORBS Plus support purchase of a polysomnograph[1]
Campaign · Other
Laguna redirected funds associated with its 25th-anniversary activities toward humanitarian support and, with NORBS Plus, helped purchase a polysomnograph for diagnosing sleep-disordered breathing.
- 2023
DM Serbia donates medical equipment[1]
Other
DM Serbia donated diagnostic and treatment equipment and climate-control units to improve conditions for patients and staff.
- 2015
Trifunović testamentary gift supports institute renovations[1]
Other
A one-million-Canadian-dollar testamentary donation from Đuro and Ilinka Trifunović was used to renovate three departments, including laboratories for metabolic disorders, microbiology, and pathology.
- 2015
Serbian Ministry of Health supports hematology-oncology reconstruction[1]
Other
The Ministry of Health of Serbia funded reconstruction work in the institute's hematology-oncology department.
Humanitarian campaign collects equipment for the institute[1]
Campaign · Other
Writer Đorđe Mitrović and the Human Heart Foundation organized a fundraising campaign that financed wheelchairs, instruments, backpacks, and first-aid supplies for the institute.
Sources1 sources
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