Bucharest, July 1st, 2021 – Vodafone Romania Foundation, in partnership with the M.A.M.E Association, launches the first digital platform in Romania for patients diagnosed with cancer or other serious illnesses, which they can use for counselling and guidance in view of solving various problems they face throughout their illness. The project is financed by the Vodafone Romania Foundation with a budget of RON 335,800, through the strategic programme “Connecting for Good”.
The platform www.impreunapentrusanatate.ro provides cancer patients and patients with serious illnesses, both adults and children, with information and guidance for accessing the medical services they require, offered by local and international clinics and hospitals, while also giving counselling on fundraising to help pay for certain investigations, interventions or treatments which cannot be performed in Romania or which are not covered by the National Health Insurance Fund. At the same time, the platform connects patients and their carers with people willing to accommodate them in the vicinity of the medical units where they undergo treatments, both locally and internationally. Last but not least, the platform provides support with solving other types of needs, such as finding medicine, ensuring transportation from the patient’s house to the hospital or translating medical documents, as well as a guide on accessing and reimbursing costs for medical services in Romania and abroad and up to date information in the health field.
Thus, the platform helps cancer patients and patients with serious illnesses to identify the best treatment options, providing access to information about over 400 clinics and hospitals, public or private, from over 20 countries in Europe, America and Asia. These are grouped in four categories (oncology, hematology, radiotherapy and bone marrow transplant), containing information about the medical services provided by each department, specialists’ contact details, accommodation options close to the hospitals, transport from the airport. The platform also contains a list of NGOs which can support patients with various free services.
Those who wish to offer support to patients with serious illnesses can access the Offer help section of the platform https://impreunapentrusanatate.ro/ro/offer-help.
www.impreunapentrusanatate.ro is available in Romanian and English and has sections for those in need and for those who can offer help. In the first year since its launch, the platform aims to support approximately 1,000 patients, bringing hope into their lives and the lives of their families.
Approximately four million chronically ill people were living in Romania in 2020, according to the data provided by the National Institute of Statistics. Many of them face financial difficulties and, most often, do not manage to cover the costs of some medical investigations, adequate treatments, transport or accommodation. This leads automatically to the postponement or interruption of treatment and, implicitly, to lowering their chances of healing. www.impreunapentrusanatate.ro aims to support these patients and those who wish to get involved for the benefit of those who are ill.
M.A.M.E Association is a non-profit organisation which supports Romanian children and young people diagnosed with cancer and other serious illnesses. During its almost 12 years of activity, it offered information and guidance services, as well as psychological, social and medical support for approximately 5,000 beneficiaries. Also, it donated high-performance medical equipment used annually by over 10,000 oncological patients. It has conducted information and awareness campaigns among over 8,000 pupils on leading a healthy lifestyle and fighting against bullying. For more details on the activity conducted by the association and its results so far, please visit: www.asociatiamame.ro or www.facebook.com/AsocMAME
The Vodafone Romania Foundation is a Romanian non-governmental charitable organisation, established in 1998, which operates separately and independently from the company’s business. Over more than 20 years of activity, the Vodafone Romania Foundation has funded 1,168 programs run by 765 NGOs throughout the country, in the fields of healthcare, education and social services. The projects had over 3 million beneficiaries – children, young people, elderly, physically, socially or economically disadvantaged people. So far, the Vodafone Romania Foundation has invested 31 million euros in projects run by non-profit partner organisations. More details about the Foundation’s programs are available at www.fundatia-vodafone.ro, http://jurnaldebine.fundatia-vodafone.ro/ și www.facebook.com/fundatiavodafone.
Code for Romania is the second largest civic technology community in the world, with approximately 2,000 volunteers across 12 time zones. To date, the organisation has already prototyped 115 digital solutions to solve problems of the Romanian society, out of which 21 are now live. Through the Civic Labs programme, Code for Romania aims to be the civic technology solution generator for Romania’s social problems. Civic Labs brings a practical contribution to solving real societal needs through an ample research process and through generating solutions with an impact at system level and measurable long-term results.
