This project is part of an Initiative for support of vulnerable families to overcome difficulties in the context of the pandemic. It is implemented under the We Care project, aiming to improve infant and maternal health outcomes of Roma communities in Bulgaria. Within the Initiative, the TSA supports 295 families from 8 locations in Bulgaria. Designed in two phases, the Initiative includes:
- Provision of direct support to low-income families with children up to 3 years old;
- Advocacy for sustainable solutions in long-term: improvement of policies and social measures in support of most excluded families and young children;
- Community participation.
The association implements the Initiative in “Nadezhda” neighborhood in Sliven and provides support to 90 families. The health mediators will help large families with children from 0 to 3 from the poorest parts of the Nadezhda neighborhood. The infant mortality rate in the district is 2 times higher than the national average. The data shows that the infant mortality rate in the district in the last 5 years is the highest in the country connected with the high number of Roma population in the region (traditionally the infant mortality rate is higher among the Roma ethnic group). In the context of the pandemic and all imposed measures to combat the outbreak of the virus in the country, a large number of the families with children living in the Sliven region, who are with already low, unstable, or irregular income are losing any opportunity to generate some monthly or even daily income, are facing difficulties to meet their basic needs. This harms the health and opportunities for the full development of the child and increases the risk of malnutrition and poor hygienic conditions.
Key Project Activities:
- Direct support to low-income families and infants – provision of specific products to address identified urgent needs of pregnant women and children up to 3 years for the period of 4 months, with a budget of 40 BGN per family - provision of drugs, based on medical prescription; food packages in support of regular and adequate nutrition; masks, disinfectants, and other hygienic agents; daily care products for infants, etc.;
- Covering costs related to accessing health services during pregnancy of uninsured pregnant women (payment of medical examination, including test costs in case of complication during pregnancy of uninsured women, living in poverty);
- Raising awareness on preventative measures for protection from the pandemic;
- Advocacy, community empowerment and participation;