During June, 19 - 21, 2017 Change Agency “Perspectives” organized a study tour to Minsk (Belarus) for the participants of the project "Creating a new model of family-and-community oriented services for children with special needs". The main purpose of the tour was to familiarize Ukrainian medical professionals with the medical and social services system provided to children with special needs.
Participants of the study tour were: a representative of the Office of the Commissioner of the President of Ukraine for Children's Rights, representative of Healthcare Departments of Regional State Administrations and of Baby homes from five regions (Dnipro, Donetsk, Zaporizhia, Lugansk and Kharkiv).
During the visit, the participants met with Valentina Volchok, the chief pediatrician of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Belarus. She provided information on the State program "Peoples Health" and the main characteristics of the Republic’s medical and social services system for children with special needs.
Ukrainian professionals familiarized themselves with the work of Early Intervention Centers. Olga Avilo, the director of the center, told that the center has been operating since 2002, and has the status of a resource center since 2010. As Olga Avilo pointed out Early intervention centers operate in all polyclinics in Minsk, children are referred by district pediatricians, and, as a result, the systematic introduction of early intervention has led to a decrease in the rates of childhood disability in the Republic.
The second day of the tour was devoted to acquaintance with palliative care and children rehabilitation system. The delegation had the opportunity to visit and communicate with the staff of the Public Charity Organization "Belarusian Children's Hospice", the Republican Clinical Center for Pediatric Palliative Care and Baby Home #1. Anna Gorchakova, Director of the Belarusian Children's Hospice, provided information on the history of palliative care in Belarus, its characteristics and modern trends, emphasized that hospice - is, above all, the philosophy of caring for those facing a life-limiting illness.
The Ukrainian delegation also had the opportunity to visit National Research Center for Pediatric Oncology, Hematology and Immunology and the Republican Scientific and Practical Center “Mother and Child”, and to get acquainted with the provision of specialized medical care of fourth-level to mothers and children.
"The Belarusian experience of Soviet healthcare system transformation is very interesting in terms of social guarantees by the state, the legal availability of paid services, healthy society, state influence on families with problems in raising children and parents obligation to pay the cost of children staying in residential institutions. Infant and maternal mortality indicators are impressive. Nevertheless, it should be noted the Ukrainian perinatal service in some aspects is better. During the visit, I came up with several ideas how to develop early intervention services in my region, but for the palliative care implementation legislative base and funding are needed," said Natalia Shmalko, one of the study tour participants.
The study tour was conducted under the Project “Creating a new model of family-and-community oriented services for children with special needs” supported by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
