Amalipe Center receives award from the “Shared Change” competition

More than 150 representatives of patient organizations from all over Bulgaria, including Center Amalipe, foreign guests from Macedonia and Romania, representatives of Bulgarian institutions, professional organizations and associations in the field of healthcare, insurance companies, health experts and industry participated in the VII National Congress of Patient Organizations, which was held on 26-27.10.2018. During the congress were discussed extremely important topics for the future of the health sector, including the reform of health care, the equal insurance model, the creation of national programs for screening and prevention of socially significant diseases, the importance of biosimilar and generic products, etc.

Among the official guests of the event were Dr. Daniela Daritkova-Prodanova, Chair of the Health Committee of the 44th National Assembly, Ms. Jeni Nacheva, Deputy Minister of Health, Assoc. Prof. Mihail Okoliyski, expert in the office of the World Health Organization for Bulgaria, Dr. Nadezhda Todorovska, Deputy Chairman of the BRC, Mrs. Svetla Nestorova, President of the Association of Bulgarian Insurers, Dr. Nelly Nesheva, Member of the Board of Directors of the Bulgarian National Bank, Mrs. Petya Nedkova, Chairman of the National Council in quality in BULGARIAN ASSOCIATION OF HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS, Dr. Tonka Varleva,  Director of the Directorate for Promotion and Prevention of Diseases and Addictions at the Ministry of Health and others.

On the second day, a draft Memorandum of Patient Organizations was presented, discussed and voted on to be circulated to all healthcare institutions. Patient organizations have unanimously declared their readiness to support any reform that is in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which call for Universal Health Coverage by 2030, which make access to health services and therapies a fundamental human right and which place the patient at the center of the healthcare system.

Within the framework of the congress, the winners of the “Shared Change” Competition were announced to describe good practices in the field of healthcare in order to improve the well-being of patients in Bulgaria. The Amalipe Center won third place in the competition for the Community Health Monitoring Initiative, which uses community-based mobilization methods to enhance bottom-up advocacy, which in the long run enhances access to quality health services in vulnerable ethnic communities. The initiative was presented during the congress by Ivan Todorov – Community Development Coordinator.