BG07 “Initiatives for public health” programme of the Norwegian Financial Mechanism
“Access to health services for pregnant women, young mothers and children up to 3 yrs old from groups at risk”
The project is implemented in the period September 2015 – January 2017 in partnership with First Specialized Ob/Gyn Hospital for Active Treatment “St. Sofia”.
The main goal of the project is to contribute to improving the access and the quality of health services, as well as improving the health status of mothers and children from 0 to 3 yrs old from vulnerable groups and Roma population within Sofia Municipality.
The specific goal is to increase awareness among representatives of the target group about their health insurance rights and obligations as patients; to ensure a better access of the target groups to the public health and social services systems; to ensure preparedness for parenthood and support for good parenting; to improve health education for future parents from groups in risk; to provide services for parents of newborn children in order to support proper childcare and improvement of children’s health; to perform screening activities among target groups for detection of thalassaemia carriers and perform an evaluation of the medical and social risk factors for the children’s health and development; dissemination of the results and good practices.
The target group of the activities under this project is pregnant women and young mothers, newborns and children up to 3 yrs of age and their families, members of vulnerable groups and Roma population within Sofia Municipality.
The project will be implemented by the following activities:
- Recruitment of volunteers from the Roma community and creating mutual-aid groups – Creating 5 groups for mutual aid and information dissemination in Roma communities on the territory of Sofia Municipality
- Training for work in a multiethnic environment – For all project specialists and consultants
- Implementation of informational campaigns within the target group on their health insurance rights and obligations as patients – Elaboration and dissemination of info materials; 5 informational events
- Provision of information and consultations on access to different health, social and other services, provided at municipal level – Minimum outreach to 1600 representatives of the target group and work with Roma and other disadvantaged groups with difficult access to healthcare, information on their health insurance rights and obligations as patients
- Health consultation services for pregnant women – 1600 home visits and provided health consultations for 1600 pregnant women and their families
- Health training – “School for parents” – Implementation of 46 trainings - “School for parents” – for 1600 pregnant women and their families
- Supervision and consultations on raising a healthy child – 1600 home visits of expectant mothers and children up to 3 yrs of age
- Medical and health related care and activities for pregnant women and children up to 3 yrs of age – 300 ob/gyn examinations of women without health insurance; consultations of 1000 expectant mothers from the target group at the hospital on raising a new-born
- Screening within the target groups for genetic carriers of thalassaemia – Testing by an automatic capillary electrophoresis system of 2500 people for detection of genetic thalassaemia carriers
- Assessment of medico-social risk factors for the children’s health and development - Evaluation of medico-social risk factors for the children’s health and development
Information and publicity for the results of the project – Organizing a round table for public presentation of the results and the good practices established during he project. 
