This focus area is characterized by the programme approach (a programme consists of component projects linked by a common theme or shared objectives) with the following objectives:

Objective No. 1: To promote healthy lifestyles and to prevent communicable diseases on national level and in geographical focus areas
Objective No. 2: To strengthen primary health care and social services in the peripherial and disadvantageous region of the geographic focus areas in favouring a multi-sectoral programmatic approach.

Total allocation for the focus area amounts up to CHF 41 Mio.


Objective No. 1)
To promote healthy lifestyles and to prevent communicable diseases on national level and in geographical focus areas

On account of the specific character of the sector covered by the support, the call for programme proposals within a given objective is of restricted character (there will be no open call for the propramme proposals). The Ministry of Health takes part in the identification process of the programmes eligible for co-financing.

Total allocation for the objective – up to CHF 18 Mio, minimum amount of programme co-financing – CHF 4 Mio, maximum amount of programme co-financing – CHF 6 Mio.

The programmes proposed will be subject to formal appraisal by the Intermediate Body (Office for Foreign Aid Programs in Health Care), and content-related appraisal  by the Intermediate Body, the Evaluation Committee, National Coordination Unit and the Swiss side. The final decision on co-financing will be taken by the donor state.

Support within the Objective No. 1 is aimed to cover communication actions, promotional campaigns, training and prevention actions within the following programmes:

1. Preventing overweight and obesity well as chronic diseases by education on nutrition and physical activity of the society.

The programme is a long-term campaign promoting health with a nationwide coverage, directed to the whole society, in particular to the target group defined below.

The programme covers the following scope of activities:

• Activities addressed to pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers on the role of correct nutrition in preventing overweight and obesity;
  
• Courses, trainings on the role of the correct nutrition and physical activity in physical and intellectual development of children and young people;
  
• Activities aimed at motivating people to follow the rules of the correct nutrition and physical activity;
  
• Trainings for food producers on the role of food and nutrition in preventing food-related diseases and possibilities of influencing the quality of food by improving the technology of food production and formulas;
  
• Activities aimed at dissemination of the knowledge about the content and nutritional value of food products and food labeling allowing the consumers to make conscious choice;
  
• Actions promoting a balanced diet and physical activity for school children and young people;
  

Training on the negative influence of advertisements on the health of children and young people for specialists of health protection and educational system.

Potential Executing Agencies – Food and Nutrition Institute in Warsaw, Chief Sanitary Inspectorate, Institute - “Children Health Centre”.

Target group: obese people and people with weight problem, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers, persons working in the area of health protection, teachers, headmasters, people dealing with nutrition at schools, food producers.

2. Education, promotion and prevention as regards oral health care directed at pre-school children, their parents, carers and teachers.

The programme will concern health education – specially dental care – for pre-school children and their carers.

Potential Executing Agencies: The project will be carried out in partnership of ten medical universities in Poland, at the head of the Medical University in Poznań.

Potential Beneficiaries: departments/units of children dentistry or non-invasive dentistry at medical universities/medical academies

Target group: pre-school children (3-5 years old), their parents, carers and teachers


3. The programnme of HCV infections prevention, within the framework of the programme following measures may be implemented:

• Education of health care workers as well as general public on the HCV infections, channels of transmission, diagnosis and treatment with a view to improve the effectiveness of recognizing HCV infected people as well as the motivation to undergo tests, ensuring the correct diagnostics, counseling, care and treatment;
  
• Screening of pregnant women and drug users in respect of HCV infections;
  
• Estimation of HCV occurrence in Poland;
  
• Risk level evaluation of HCV infection in the light of the applied medical procedures.

Potential Executing Agencies – National Institute of Public Health - National Institute of Hygiene – the leading institution, Chief Sanitary Inspectorate, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology, Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, Nicolaus Copericus University in Toruń, Medical Academy in Wrocław, State Sanitary Inspection.

Potential Beneficiaries: State Sanitary Inspection, clinics of infectious diseases at medical academies/medical universities, health care institutions

Target group: pregnant women, drug users


4. Prophylactic programme for the prevention of addiction to alcohol, tobacco and other psychoactive substances.

Within the programme the following activities might be implemented:

• trainings  for primary care physicians (paediatricians), gynaecologists, neonatologists, occupational health physicians, obstetricians, voivodeship and poviat co-ordinators from sanitary-epidemiological stations and teachers;
  
• implementation of educational measures addressed to pregnant women;
  
• national social campaign;
  
• national survey aiming at the determination of health behaviors of pregnant women and the evaluation of measures undertaken.

Potential Executing Agencies: The Chief Sanitary Inspectorate, The Institute of Agricultural Medicine, The State Agency for the Prevention of Alcohol-Related Problems, The Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, The National Bureau for Drug Prevention.

Potential beneficiaries: The Chief Sanitary Inspectorate, The Institute of Agricultural Medicine, The State Agency for the Prevention of Alcohol-Related Problems, The Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, The National Bureau for Drug Prevention, The Supreme Medical Chamber, The Main Chamber of Nurses and Midwives and The Polish Gynecological Society.

Target groups: pregnant women, women at reproductive age, students of secondary schools, primary care physicians (pediatricians), gynecologists, neonatologists, occupational health physicians, obstetricians, voivodeship and poviat coordinators from sanitary-epidemiological stations and teachers.


Objective No. 2)
To strengthen primary health care and social services in the peripherial and disadvantageous region of the geographic focus areas in favouring a multi-sectoral programmatic approach

On account of the specific character of the sector covered by the support, the call for programme proposals within a given objective is of restricted character (there will be no open call for the programme proposals). The Ministry of Labour and Social Policy takes part in the identification process of the  programmes eligible for co-financing.

Total allocation for the above objective: up to CHF 23 million; The entire allocation within the Objective No. 2 of focus area “Health” will be assigned to programmes implemented in geographical focus areas (Lubelskie, Podkarpackie, Świętokrzyskie, Małopolskie). In each voivodship of the geographic focus at least one programme on the regional level will be implemented. A programme co-financing will amount from CHF 4 to 6 Mio.

The programmes proposed by Executing Agencies will be subject to formal appraisal by the Intermediate Body, and content-related appraisal  by the Intermediate Body, the National Coordination Unit and the Swiss side. The final decision on co-financing will be taken by the donor state.

The Executing Agency preparing a given programme will be responsible to the Intermediate Body for programme implementation within the scope of authorisations granted, in compliance with the adopted procedures and the binding law.

The Intermediate Body will be responsible for monitoring of the correctness and the degree of programme implementation, ensuring audit and supervising the financial issues of the programme.
 
Support within the Objective No.2 of focus area “Health” covers:
Programmes aimed at supporting community homes and/or childcare centres and their personnel will be implemented. In the view of the people living in the community homes, the following 24-hour institutions may be covered by the support: for elderly people, for chronically physically ill, for chronically mentally ill, for mentally disabled adults, for mentally disabled children and youth, for physically disabled persons. In case of childcare centres, the support applies as well to 24-hour establishments. Programmes are aimed at having a positive impact on the improvement of living conditions of residents, quality of services provided to them as well as working conditions of personnel of community homes and/or childcare centres.

Programme Executing Agencies: Regional Self-government in Voivodship Lubelskie, Małopolskie, Podkarpackie through the Regional Social Policy Centres, and Voivode of Świętokrzyskie Province through the Social Policy Department in the Voivodship Office. Component No.3 within the programmes may be implemented in cooperation with Postgraduate Education Centre for Nurses and Midwives.

Programme beneficiaries: public or non-profit oriented entities running community homes and/or childcare centres.


Each programme in the four target regions will be composed of 3 components:

First component – the improvement of the infrastructure of community homes and/or childcare centers by implementing remedy programmes, including investments and/or reconstruction/extension/modernisation, as well as tasks connected with the purchase of the necessary equipment and/or its restoration. The basic aim of this component is to improve the quality of services rendered to the people living in community homes and/or childcare centers and /or to extend the number of these services. The Executing Agencies will organise respective calls for project proposals for programme beneficiaries which are of open character and will be responsible for the formal and content-related appraisal of received applications. The selection of projects to be supported will be carried out by a Steering Committee appointed by the Executing Agency. The Steering Committee will be composed of experts in the field  appointed by the Executing Agency (internal, external) as well as the representatives of regional/local administration, social partners and NGOs acting in relevant region as observers.

Target groups: community homes and/or childcare centres run by public or non-profit oriented entities;


Second component – the enhancement of professional qualifications of personnel of community homes and/or childcare centers, principally working directly with their residents. The Executing Agencies will carry out the analysis of training needs of personnel of community homes and/or childcare centers in the relevant region, indicate measures connected with the enhancement of professional qualifications (e.g. type and content of training programmes), select services providers (according to the Public Procurement Procedure), and conduct the recruitment of participants through an open announcement of recruitment.

Target groups: personnel of community homes and/or childcare centers run by public or non-profit oriented entities.


Third component – the improvement of the quality of nursing services for the persons living in community homes covering the enhancement of professional qualification of the nurses/male nurses working in community homes, providing community homes with the equipment for nurses to render services, being the minimum necessary equipment of the nurses.

Target groups: nurses working for community homes run by public or non-profit oriented entities who completed at least the secondary education in the nurse profession and who have to complete their qualifications in accordance with the compulsory requirements of  National Health Fund within a scope of contracting nursing services. The support will concern only those nurses for whom it is necessary to obtain the additional qualifications necessary to practice the nurse profession. The implementation scheme is similar to the scheme within the second component.


Maximum rate of investment costs should amount up to 70% of the overall eligible programme costs (mainly in component No.1, incl. purchase of equipment within the component No.3).