Beyond Barriers: Roma Women as Healthcare Professionals and Role Models
Starosel, 2 August
“Beyond Barriers: Roma Women as Healthcare Professionals and Role Models” was the theme of a three-day working meeting organized by the Foundation for Health and Social Development (FHSD) from 31 July to 2 August.
More than 60 participants took part in the event, including Roma nursing and midwifery students—most of them in the final stage of their studies—their mentors who have supported them throughout their educational journey, health mediators from the regions where the newly qualified professionals will begin their careers, as well as experts from FHSD, the National Network of Health Mediators (NNHM), the Bulgarian Family Planning and Sexual Health Association (BFPA), and the Thracian University of Stara Zagora.
We hope that this joint training marks the beginning of closer teamwork in organizing HPV prevention campaigns and other community-based health initiatives.
A substantial part of the programme was delivered by Dr. Radosveta Stamenkova and Ventsislav Kirkov from BFPA. Their sessions focused on “The Benefits of Vaccination: From Knowledge to Action – HPV Prevention” and “The HPV Vaccine: Safety, Effectiveness, Public Health Impact and Achieved Results.”
Participants were also introduced to the activities, strategic priorities and expected outcomes of the #HUMANCODE project, in which BFPA has been working for the past three years together with Thracian University and partner organisations from Romania and Ukraine to strengthen HPV prevention efforts.
The following session shifted the focus from theory to practice with the topic “How Do We Talk About HPV Prevention? The Role of Nurses, Midwives and Health Mediators in Promoting HPV Vaccination and Organising Effective Awareness Campaigns.”
The most engaging part of the programme came next. Divided into five mixed teams, nurses, midwives and health mediators developed and presented role-play scenarios based on real-life situations encountered during community outreach work related to immunisation and, in particular, HPV vaccination.
The participants explored practical ways to address misconceptions, communicate evidence-based health messages, build trust within communities and respond to vaccine hesitancy. The exchange of experience, ideas and good practices proved invaluable.
We hope this is only the beginning. Society should not miss the opportunity to protect girls and boys from multiple HPV-related cancers through a simple, safe and free preventive intervention.
For more than three years, together with our colleagues and partners in the HPV Coalition, we have been working to improve HPV vaccination coverage in Bulgaria. Our shared goal is to move beyond the country’s currently very low vaccination rates and achieve at least 10% coverage among children eligible for free vaccination under the National Programme.
National Programme for Primary Prevention of Cancers Caused by Human Papillomavirus (HPV), 2025–2030
The National Programme provides free HPV vaccination (including both the vaccine and its administration) for:
- girls aged 10 years to under 18 years;
- boys aged 10 years to under 14 years.
The vaccine included in the Programme protects against the HPV types most commonly associated with cancer and genital warts: 6, 11, 16, 18, 31, 33, 45, 52 and 58.
To ensure effective protection, the recommended vaccination schedule is:
- Children (girls and boys) under the age of 15: two doses administered at least six months apart.
- Girls aged 15 to under 18 years: three doses, with a two-month interval between the first and second dose and at least four months between the second and third dose.
The HUMANCODE project is funded under the European Union’s EU4Health Programme. Its objective is to improve public health and reduce health inequalities in Eastern Europe through integrated and sustainable measures for the prevention of communicable and non-communicable diseases, with a particular focus on vaccine-preventable cancers—especially HPV-related cancers—among vulnerable and socio-economically disadvantaged populations.