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Description
The problem addressed by this project is the situation of refugees – people on the move who have come to the Polish-Belarusian border and suffered injuries there. Such persons may end up in hospitals, but medical assistance may also be denied to them. Minors may end up in foster care facilities. The mental and emotional state of refugees, who are unable to communicate with medical personnel, are guarded by border guards and treated like criminals, is often very bad. That is why in this project we are concerned with the human rights of such people. We want to ensure that hospitalised people on the move are empowered, have the opportunity to get in touch with relatives, to communicate in their language, to exercise their right to information and to legal and psychological assistance. We want to achieve a situation in which neither skin colour, origin, religion nor gender has an impact on the decision to hospitalise or the subsequent treatment of patients. We want to support the creation of a system to prevent the denial of medical services to those who require and are entitled to them. We also want to change the attitude of the public (including medical personnel) towards refugees by taking appropriate communication measures.
Summary of project results
The intervention project aimed to support people crossing the Polish-Belarusian border who suffered accidents and injuries. The project achieved significant success by providing people staying in medical facilities with broad access to legal, psychological and translator support, as well as by providing the necessary medical assistance to those who were previously denied it.
These activities had a significant impact on improving hospitalization conditions and securing appropriate care for minors. The support provided to medical staff was crucial for the effective implementation of the project''s tasks, contributing to improving the quality of services provided. Moreover, effective communication activities contributed to changing social attitudes towards refugees, which was an important step towards building a more open and friendly society.
Effective addressing of risks through education and monitoring the situation was also of great importance. Thanks to this, project activities were more targeted and effective, minimizing negative effects on people participating in the program and the local community. It is worth noting that reaching the target groups was successful, which proves the effectiveness of the activities and their compliance with the project assumptions.
Cooperation with partners played a key role in the implementation of the project, and its efficiently functioning mechanism contributed to achieving the intended goals. The principles of good governance, equal opportunities and sustainable development were fully incorporated in all activities, which allowed for the creation of a coherent and sustainable intervention strategy.
As a result of the activities carried out and the use of the prepared products, a number of benefits and changes were observed among the recipients of the project and in the local community:
- Changing the attitude of medical staff: Information activities and training for medical staff contributed to a positive change in attitude towards people on the road. Staff have become more aware of the needs and challenges faced by refugees, which translates into a more empathetic approach and better understanding of their situation.
- Providing support for people on the move: Thanks to the caseworker''s work, refugees who were admitted to hospitals and care facilities were provided with legal and psychological support, a translator, help in asylum matters and represented before state authorities.
A system was created to prevent refusal to provide medical services: Thanks to the system, people on the road who suffered accidents, injuries or became seriously ill received the necessary medical assistance that they could not obtain otherwise. Thanks to it, humanitarian workers and volunteers gained knowledge on how to prevent medical staff and emergency dispatchers from refusing to provide medical services.
- Increased public awareness: Communication activities, including information campaigns and project events, contributed to increasing public awareness of the situation of people on the road and the challenges they face. This resulted in greater understanding and acceptance of them in the local community.
- Solving problems and responding to needs: The project allowed for effective solution of some problems and response to the needs defined before its implementation. Thanks to the system for preventing refusal to provide medical services, it was possible to avoid situations in which these people are at risk of deterioration of health or death.
- Benefits of cooperation: Cooperation with partners, including the Nomada Association and Medecins sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), has brought a number of benefits for the organization and the environment. Thanks to the partnership, it was possible to better use resources and achieve a greater scope of activities.