Active citizens for local and national reform in healthcare

About this project

<p style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-size: 11pt"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif">The National Patients’ Organization (NPO) is a nationally representative organization whose members are 55 patients’ organizations and which strives to build and establish a strong and united patients’ movement. Despite its experience and opportunities, NPO, just like the other national patients’ organizations, struggles to develop an active civil dialogue in healthcare. Citizen participation in policy-setting is not sufficient, as it has become evident during the COVID-19 crisis. There are no clear and sustainable mechanisms for citizen and patient involvement in decision-making in healthcare. This is due to the low interest on behalf of the state to involve the civil sector as a partner, the small capacity of the sector and the lack of digital tools for citizen counselling and debate. The main goal of the project is to strengthen civic involvement in healthcare by developing digital opportunities for debate at national level and building local advocacy capacity in nine districts of the country: Blagoevgrad, Bourgas, Vidin, Vratsa, Montana, Shumen, Smolyan, Haskovo and Pleven. The project will have a direct impact on active citizenship through a number of activities such as setting up a coalition, a national survey, development and implementation of advocacy maps, training of local leaders, building an e-platform for citizen communication and presentation of a package of legislative amendments and the project will also include the vulnerable community of people with chronic conditions. To achieve its goals, the project will rely on leading experts from Bulgaria as well as international support for the introduction of contemporary European solutions for involvement of patients.The project will boost citizen awareness, provide space for patients’ groups to advocate for quality healthcare, encourage putting forward legislative amendments in a top-down manner and help guarantee the place of the patient – citizen in the institutional forms of decision-making.</span></span></p>