Mother and Child Health

Location: Roma district of Nadezhda, in Sliven

Situation:

In the period leading up to EU accession, Bulgaria has seen sizeable economic growth. However, despite the government s commitment to carry out reforms immediately, the European Union has pointed to three weaknesses: efforts to tackle corruption, the management of regional aid, and food security. The gradual social improvements mask deep regional disparities and major social inequalities, in particular for the Roma community whose situation remains worrying and whose health status is appalling.

Activities:

MdM continues to support the Roma population, within the framework of a mother and child health programme created by MdM’s regional delegation in Corsica. The programme continues to organise and provide:
• Mother and child health consultations;
• Information and health education sessions for mothers and children, as well as the development of a mothers’ school;
• A public health survey in the ‘district of the naked’, to identify and accompany the most vulnerable people. In addition, the programme became national in 2006.

Outlook:

To rethink this project and to define a partnership with private and public doctors in the town, we need to:
• Refocus activities on access to healthcare and health training;
• Strengthen the team by organizing training and coordination meetings, to encourage setting up of a ‘hygiene point’ prior to hospital admission and to disseminate documents and publications.

Project start date: March 2004

End date: December 2009