The European Commission and UNICEF - supporting young children in Sliven district
The Center for Child and Maternal Health in Sliven receives financial support from the European Commission under Phase III of the Preparatory Action for the Child Guarantee which is being piloted in Bulgaria
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The Home visiting services provided by the Center for Child and Maternal Health at the Medical Center "Dr. GV Mirkovich" in Sliven, targeted at families with children from 0 to 3 years, is one of the four model services supported by the European Commission under the Pilot project “Testing the Child Guarantee in the EU Member States”.
>> Read more about what type of services will be funded under the project here.
The Center was established in 2014 with the support from UNICEF, and now its team will be strenghtened and its activities will be expanded. Under the "Child Guarantee", nurses and midwives will continue to provide home visits and support to families with counselling on child development, nutrition and care, safe environments, and on establishing strong parent-child connections. They will also continue to support parents in dealing with the challenges of raising a child, refer them to health professionals,and assist them in accessing administrative and social services.
Thanks to financial support from European Commission, families will able to receive more information related to early childhood development. The Center will be able to focus its efforts further on early monitoring of child development and its staff will receive additional training and supervision.
Screening through specific indicators for the development of children at certain key stages - 9 and 18 months, will be introduced and will allow for the timely detection of any developmental delays or difficulties. It will also ensure timely referral of families to additional support for overcoming potential problems.
Under the pilot project, the Center will hire a community assistant who will help nurses and midwives in their work with families as well as two additional full-time and one on part-time nurse.
Under the pilot project, the Center will hire a community assistant who will help nurses and midwives in their work with families as well as two additional full-time and one on part-time nurse.
The support provided by nurses and midwives has proven invaluable during this period of isolation due to the pandemic; while the COVID-19 crisis affected all people, it has hit the most vulnerable children and families especially hard. Despite the risks, they continued to be close to families, distributing sanitary materials and food, and explaining rules and requirements for distancing, disinfection and safe social contact.
An essential part of the Center's work is interacting with other institutions and professionals - from the healthcare system, social services, child protection, educational institutions and others - in order to meet the complex needs of families and facilitate their access to health and education services, social benefits, housing, legal advice, and support in solving administrative problems, etc.
The Center has established strong cooperation linkages with local social services, GPs, maternity wards, the Regional Healthcare Inspectorate, the Bulgarian Family Planning Association, local authorities and NGOs. In recent months, this cooperation has been further strengthened, and local organizations are working together to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
All pregnant women and families with small children up to 3 years of age in Sliven district can access the home visiting services. The intensity of the support is based on the specific needs of the family. (Read more about the work of the Center and the stories behind the numbers here - link to the history from the Center)
During the last quarter of 2020, when the work of the Center was supported by the Child Guarantee pilot project, the nurses and midwives have provided:
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2,106 VISITS, OF WHICH 1,578 IN THE FAMILY HOMES
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SUPPORT TO 1,704 CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 3
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COUNSELLING TO 1,549 FAMILIES WITH YOUNG CHILDREN
This project is funded by the European Union.
© UNICEF-Bulgaria, 2021
The information and views set out in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the European Union.
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