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Description
The National Patient Organization, in its capacity as a nationally representative organization for the protection of patients'' rights, is a membership structure composed of independent civil organizations that work in a wide range of socially significant and rare diseases. The NGO identified serious gaps related to the advocacy capacity of civil society organizations - NGO members regarding the response to the health crisis in the wave of refugees from Ukraine. It is a fact that thousands of refugees have already been displaced in our country, a significant part of whom have serious health problems or are vulnerable (children), whom the Bulgarian health system must accommodate. A strategic goal of the project is to invest in the capacity of the network of patient NGO member organizations to provide real-world support tailored to the needs of refugees to reduce inequality and barriers to Ukrainian citizens. A key objective of the project is to improve the civic competences of the NGO network of patient organizations and develop their skills for dialogue and communication, for advocacy and case work by mobilizing available local and national resources. The direct target group of the project are civil organizations from the NGO network, and the results of the project will be used by war refugees and national and municipal health structures and administrations.
Summary of project results
The National Patients'' Organization (NPO), as the nationally representative patient rights organization, identified serious gaps related to the advocacy capacity of its member organizations in responding to the health crisis in the refugee wave from Ukraine. The strategic objective of the project was to invest in the capacity of the network of patient member NGOs to provide reality-based, refugee-sensitive support to reduce inequalities and barriers for Ukrainian citizens. A key objective of the project was to improve the civic competencies of the NPO network of patient organisations and to develop their skills in dialogue and communication, advocacy and case work by mobilising available local and national resources.
The project included a series of trainings for patient organizations, conducting a survey and developing an advocacy package to increase the capacity of the NPO and its members to advocate and respond adequately to the patient needs of Ukrainian refugees in Bulgaria. The survey on access to healthcare for Ukrainian refugees in Bulgaria was conducted in the cities of Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna and Burgas, and a report was produced outlining the main barriers and recommendations for overcoming them.
The direct target group of the project were the civil society organizations of the NPO network. 32 representatives of 21 patient organisations from all over the country received training on working with Ukrainian refugees in the field of health care. All NPO member organisations received a written methodology for working with Ukrainian refugees regarding access to medical care.
The results of the project will benefit war refugees and national and municipal health structures and administrations. The results of the survey were made public in the media and an advocacy document based on the results and recommendations of the survey was sent to the institutions.