Project: “Healthcare for Everyone”
Implemented in: Bulgaria
Program: “Local development, poverty reduction and enhanced inclusion of vulnerable groups”
Implementation period: 01.11.2021 – 30.04.2024
Lead organisation: Ministry of Health (Bulgaria)
Partner: National Network of Health Mediators
Project summary:
The predefined project addresses the needs for improving health status and more effective implementation of the national health policies in places where there are marginalized communities living in poverty and social exclusion. The health status of the marginalized groups is characterized by higher morbidity, lower life expectancy and higher mortality, especially in children. Therefore, this project includes activities in the field of maternal and child health, family planning, prevention of sexually transmitted infections, especially syphilis and congenital syphilis. The implementation of the project will support the measures of the National Program for Improving Maternal and Child Health 2021-2030 and the National Program for Prevention and Control of HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infections, ensuring closer coordination of the national with local authorities.
Covid-19 pandemic confirmed the need for active and effective participation at the local level in the implementation of health policies targeted at vulnerable groups. Poor health status, difficulties in complying with prevention measures, population mobility, prejudices against vaccination make marginalized communities more vulnerable to the virus and increase the risk of epidemics in the existing “pockets of poverty”.
In the implementation of the project, the Ministry of Health in partnership with the Association “National Network of Health Mediators”, which unite, train, coordinate and monitor the activities of the health mediators throughout the country, will test mechanisms for better communication between groups at risk and health institutions at the local level both for prevention and treatment, as well as for collecting up-to-date data on the health status and the effectiveness of the implementation of the health policies. This will create conditions for facilitating access to health care for marginalized communities and access to health services for all Bulgarian citizens.
The main goal of the project is to improve the communication, resources and coordination at the local level in the implementation of health policies for marginalized communities by optimizing the health mediation system. The goal will be achieved by identifying and analyzing the weak points of the system at the local level, as well as the problems in communication with the local communities and finding flexible working models that meet the diverse specifics of marginalized groups.
To achieve the goal, the project activities will be aimed at 1. Improving the mechanism for implementation of national health Policies at the local level; 2. Building a working model for working in crisis situations such as Covid-19 in relation to socially excluded and isolated marginalized communities; 3. Improving the system for regular provision of health information; 4. Approbation of services and approaches for work to overcome the existing deficits; 5. Expanding the activities of health mediators. In the implementation of the project activities a two-way approach will be applied, on the one hand to improve the system of health services for vulnerable groups at local level and the relationship between health policies at local and national level, on the other – work with vulnerable groups to build active role in relation to their own health. Activities will focus on providing low-threshold services and raising awareness through community participation; developing and strengthening the local stakeholder capacity, i.e. local government, RHIs, doctors, hospitals, mediators, etc., as implementors of the national policy in the area; optimizing the use of health mediation, incl. hospitals; a new approach to collecting, processing and using data on the health status of citizens from marginalized communities; introduction of digital technologies in the process of direct work with the community to facilitate the accountability of health mediators.
Grant amount: 1 109 718 EUR
Contact: Assoc. Prof. Mariyana Vasileva Vasileva-Ivanova
email: mvassileva@mh.government.bg
phone: + 359 2 9301296
address: 5, Sveta Nedelya Sq. 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria
