The project “From increased voice to the improved health care access” has a general purpose to promote an equal access to the healthcare protection, especially in the prenatal period for women with financial difficulties, with a special focus on Roma women. Through its activities, NRC advocates for an implementation of the Macedonian Law for healthcare protection, which guarantees healthcare services for all women. At the same time, we advocate at the healthcare institutions in Macedonia to create politics which will provide an equal approach to the healthcare services, such as prenatal protection for all women in their reproductive period.
Donor: Foundation Open Society Macedonia
Duration of the project: 20.12.2012– 20.12.2013
Description:
In 2011, NRC conducted a quality field research with Roma women in 10 focus groups in Kumanovo, Kriva Palanka, Kocani, Stip and Bitola. Twenty-five interviews were made with representatives from healthcare institutions which operate in every level of healthcare protection in Macedonia. In that direction, we documented many barriers which prevented the Roma women, as citizens who are socio-economically most vulnerable, to have access to the healthcare services in the reproductive period, especially to the prenatal care. Besides the unequal treatment from the healthcare workers and the unawareness of the women (in reproductive period) aged 15 – 49 about their rights to healthcare, the economic difficulties are identified as one of the most important barriers. Because of these reasons, the women don’t use their right to go to regular prenatal checkups.
The Law for healthcare protection in Macedonia includes prenatal and postpartum services for all women. The practice shows that even the minimum amounts that the pregnant women pay, according to the price list of the Health Insurance Fund, are very high. The women who have financial problems or are beneficiaries of social welfare, are not able to cover this participation. The second problem which we identified during our research is the lack of information between the women about the prices of particular services. The Health Insurance Fund doesn’t specify which healthcare services are parts of the free healthcare package for the prenatal and postpartum period. The result of this is the women’s participation in the payment of all medical tests and examinations which are mandatory during pregnancy and are of different prices, which is an additional problem for the economically vulnerable women. Furthermore, while the childbirth is free in the public hospitals, in case of complications after the childbirth the women who stay in the hospital for more than 24 hours must pay the same amount as a regular stay in the hospital.
Goal of the project:
Main goal: Advocating in the Ministry for health, in cooperation with the Health Insurance Fund, in order to lift the participation for prenatal services for economically vulnerable pregnant mothers (beneficiaries of social welfare aged 15 – 49).
Specific goals
– Advocating for a creation of a package with free prenatal and postpartum services for women in difficult economic state.
– NRC to initiate a public debate for the weaknesses of the current legal frame for health and social protection and will suggest a revision of the same.
– Generating an international pressure on the Macedonian healthcare authorities in order to provide an equal access for the Roma women to the healthcare.
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