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Description
Health without Borders Association and its Centre for Sexual Health Checkpoint Sofia have a long-standing experience in testing, consulting and preventing HIV, hepatitis and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) among the most vulnerable communities such as the Roma, prostitutes, people living with HIV, LGBTI, drug users and migrants. We have good knowledge not only of the health-related difficulties faced by these people but also their social and civil challenges stemming from the lack of integrated services for minority groups in Bulgaria. Many of them are subject to multiple discrimination, while at the same time they are not aware of their rights and do not have the knowledge and experience to defend them. Over the last five months of life in the COVID-19 epidemic we have had a growing number of clients facing economic hardships and social isolation. Many of them, in particular people living with HIV, have difficulties accessing health services and their patients’ rights have been violated. The project aims at educating the members of vulnerable communities about their rights as citizens and patients of the healthcare system and offering them professional legal aid to consult and solve specific issues. The project will use information activities and legal consultations to raise their awareness of their human, civil and patient’s rights and reduce the cases of discrimination and denied access to health services. The project will first and foremost benefit people addicted to drugs, gay men and people living with HIV.
Summary of project results
Within the framework of the project, conditions have been created for providing free legal assistance, counseling and mediation to patients in a vulnerable situation through direct work in the field, interaction, counseling and accompanying if necessary. For the implementation of the project, the team reached 624 individual drug users with mobile services. 63 of the consulted persons were assisted in obtaining personal documents, and social consultations were provided on the ground by the field assistants. 40 legal consultations were provided to vulnerable groups. The majority of counseling was provided to people from the LGBT community, but drug users also received legal assistance. The services were launched in the conditions of a missing National Program for the prevention and control of HIV and STIs (sexually transmitted infections) in the country. As part of the implementation of the project, work is carried out in the field through individual counseling, motivation, etc. The representatives of the target groups participated directly in the activities through the services provided in the field. A large number of inquiries from people from vulnerable groups relate to perceived ill-treatment due to the stigma attached to their drug problem or sexual orientation or gender identity in society. As a significant difficulty in counseling all vulnerable groups, it can also be pointed out that it is necessary for the affected user to overcome the "shame" of exposing his problem to people unknown to him. Therefore, among the successes of the project, the achieved "shortening of the distance" and reaching the people can be mentioned.