“Bring Health”: New Campaign Highlights Struggles to Access Medicines in Bulgaria’s Small Settlements

Access to medicines for every settlement in the country – this is the aim of the “Bring Health” campaign launched by the Institute for Market Economics, which seeks to address a long-standing problem. The initiative calls on people to share their stories so that concrete policy proposals can be shaped on the basis of real experiences. As part of the campaign, a short film has been produced, illustrating what the problem looks like in practice.

The 21st century – yet in many localities across Bulgaria, access to medicines remains a challenge.

“I look after myself. I ask this one or that one to bring me what I need. Otherwise, who would fetch it for me?” says Penka.

The village of Mlechevo, situated 25 kilometres from Sevlievo (Northern Bulgaria) in the mountains, is no exception. Here, as in many places across the country, everyone is left to find their own solution. People rely on relatives and neighbours.

“It’s worrying. For now, we still travel to Sevlievo. But if we get older – and if we’re still alive – I’ve no idea how we’ll manage,” explains Stanka.

“I take one medicine for thinning the blood. They don’t have it in Sevlievo. A young man who brings me another medicine had gone to Gabrovo on an errand of his own, found it there and brought it back to me,” adds Penka.

The village is divided into neighbourhoods, each about two kilometres from the centre. Public transport is rare. For an elderly person, getting to Sevlievo to buy medicine is a considerable ordeal.

"At the moment, there is a person who takes the bread to the neighborhoods with his personal car and takes requests from the elderly people who need help getting medicines,” says Vladimir Georgiev, the mayoral representative in Mlechevo.

The Institute for Market Economics believes it has a solution: improving access to medicines for every settlement in the country.

“We’re seeing entire municipalities without a single pharmacy. Out of 265 municipalities, 23 have none at all. You can imagine how difficult it is for people living in these areas to obtain their medicines, to receive their treatment on time, not to worry about who will bring it to them or whether their therapy will be interrupted,” says Petya Georgieva, senior economist at the institute.

But there are ways to ensure medicines reach people even when there is no pharmacy nearby, the experts remind.

“If online trade in prescription medicines were permitted – and we’re not talking about buying them online, but simply about allowing them to be delivered to patients via courier services. At the moment this is prohibited. Another option is the introduction of mobile pharmacies,” Georgieva explains.

“The idea from the IME is excellent – the question is whether someone in the Ministry of Health will finally hear the appeal of the people,” adds Vladislav Georgiev.