Celebrating its anniversary, the MMA’s Sector for Preventive Medicine organized the Symposium titled "80 Years of Preventive Medical Protection in Serbian Armed Forces" which took place at Military Medical Academy on October 26, 2012.

The head of the Military Medical Academy Brigadier General Prof. Dr. Marijan Novakovic stressed out the importance of marking this jubilee for Military Medical Academy and entire military healthcare system. He also pointed out the long tradition of military preventive medical protection in Serbia dating from 1880 as well as its significance for good medical practice.

Work of the Sector was presented by the head of the MMA’s Sector for Preventive Medicine Prof. Dr. Sonja Radakovic and her co-workers. The foundation of the Military Hygiene Institute in 1930, working within the framework of Military General Hospital in Belgrade and precursor of today MMA’s Sector for Preventive Medicine, gave a valuable contribution to the institutional development of this medical branch, said Prof. Dr. Radakovic.

The year of 1880 is considered the beginning of preventive-medical protection in Serbian Armed Forces, when a chemical laboratory of the First Army District was established. During the wars, it became more important and military preventive-medical doctrine forms the basis of diseases prevention, especially infectious, among both military members and citizens.

Today, the MMA’s Sector for Preventive Medicine represents eminent preventive-medical unit of military medical services organized through four institutes (hygiene, epidemiology, microbiology and occupational medicine). Its parallel activities include routine practice according to the needs of Armed Forces and citizenship, education (Sector is a base for teaching process at the University of Defence, i.e. MMA’s Medical School and Military Academy). It deals also with scientific-research work while participating in realization of several projects within the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development as well as in the international projects.