HealthProm

is an international development NGO working with local communities

to improve health and social care for vulnerable women and children

in the countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

To achieve sustainable, culturallysensitive dissemination of best practices in health and social care for vulnerable group in the

countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

HealthProm is a small UK registered charity based in London

HealthProm was founded in 1984 as UK-USSR Medical Exchange

HealthProm works through partnership projects with local communities

UK – USSR Medical Exchange Programme, 1984

Aim: To build up friendship and trust between the UK and the USSR through the

medical network

Safe Childbirth and Newborn Care

Health and Social Care of Children

Infection Control

Care and Rehabilitation of Children

with Disability

RussiaKyrgyzstanTajikistanUzbekistanAzerbaijan Afghanistan Map of Central Asia and Northern Afghanistan

In the past we also worked in Ukraine and Kazakhstan.

Provide support to vulnerable children and their families

Prevent institualisation Rebuild, renovate and equip hospitals and

health facilities Improve and strengthen local health

systems and services Encourage social inclusion and integration

of disabled children

Training health and social care professionals

  Develop publications and training materials

Raise public awareness and advocate at regional and national levels

Organise public health education and prevention campaigns

Build capacity of local NGOs and provide networking opportunities

Safe Childbirth Project in AzerbaijanTogether with our Azerbaijani partner NGO “Family and Society” we trained more than 300 doctors and midwives in more than 6 regions in the country and provided necessary medical equipment to local hospitals in Sheki and Kizhi regions. The project was funded by GlaxoSmithKline and started in 2003.

Inter-regional League of Midwives of RussiaHealthProm helped develop the first professional association for midwives for Russia, which acts as a voice for Russian midwives and advocates for a defined professional role for midwives based on international definitions and standards of midwifery education and practice.

Bologoye Hospital Project (Tver region, Russia)HealthProm provided essential medical equipment and professional training for the Bologoye Hospital Maternity Department

Newborn care in UzbekistanHealthProm provided training of trainers in resuscitation of newborn babies in Uzbekistan in partnership with the Ministry of Health and UNICEF

Altai Child Disability Project (Siberia, Russia) HealthProm and our Russian partner NGO Revival established two day care centres for disabled

children and their families, which provided community based care and support service for disabled children and their families

Young Child Attachment, St. Petersburg This two-year project in partnership with the St Petersburg Early Intervention Institute, funded mainly by

the European Union, ended in 2008. The main aim was to build the Institute's knowledge and understanding of children's needs for

development and a Russian evidence base of research findings on what works best for child development, to be disseminated throughout Russia.

The project also made a training film entitled "Early Relationships and Child Development“

“Supporting young disabled children and their families in Kyrgyz Republic”•Started in May 2008, for three years

•Funded by the Big Lottery Fund

•Working in partnership with two Kyrgyz NGOs – Association of Parents of Disabled Children, Bishkek, and Public Association “Shoola-Kol”, Issyk-Kul region

Pilot regions: Bishkek and Issuk Kul region

Reaching most vulnerable children with mental and physical disability AND their families

To provide information and support to families

To prevent the child from being signed to an institution.

An Early Years Support Centre service in Dushanbe

This two year long project started in December 2009 Funded by the European Commission

The project will: Train mothers to become financially active; Provide crisis support and short term accommodation for women

and children at risk; Provide counselling and support to parents and awareness training

for local administrators; Train professionals in child care and early intervention.

Reducing maternal and newborn deaths in Charharkint District, Northern Afghanistan

Partners: Bakhtar Development Network

Project activities: Recruiting and training community health workers to provide basic health

care Raising awareness and improving quality of care in 10 poor villages Providing essential equipment and supplies, building premises for the health

centre Providing motor transport for obstetric emergencies

The term “partnership” is used in a variety of ways and in different contexts.

Most common definition: Partnership means a formal agreement

between two or more parties that have agreed to work together in the pursuit of common goals.

Create a bond of trust and demonstrate openness

Work as a team Respect the organizational mission of each

partner Respect the expectations and limits of each

partner Share power, risks and responsibilities Encourage commitment and equal

involvement from all partners

HealthProm has had partnerships with: Hospitals Local authorities (departments of health,

etc) National and regional governments

(Ministries) NGOs Universities and colleges Professional associations Individuals

Bologoye hospital, Tver region, Russia Local Department of Health –Togliatti infection

control project Local NGOs -Kyrgyz Child Disability Project Local NGOs and Ministry of Social Protection in

the Altai Republic Professional Association – Russian League of

Midwives, Moscow

Challenges Finding a good partner Building trust Changing environment (etc legal, funding

etc) Language and cultural differences Working with a partner from a distance Limitations of various types of partners Sustainability

Opportunities Strong local NGOs Accessibility –internet, other technologies Change in partnership approach from

international NGOs Funding requirements for partnerships Mutual interests

Invest in feasibility study and in finding a “good” partner

Be clear about roles and responsibilities of each partner

Equal partnership, no patronising please! You can learn a lot from partners

Start working on sustainability of your partners and a project from the very beginning –do not leave to the end of the project

Risk assessment of the partnership before the start of the project/at the beginning

Make clear the difference between “donor” and “partner”

Respect the people you work with Don’t make assumptions Be sensitive cultural differences Don’t forget about partnerships with other

similar international or European NGOs