Information from Governance Regulation reporting on adaptation (2023, 2021)

The National Development Programme Bulgaria 2020 points that the most vulnerable sectors, including health, need to be addressed with priority to limit any economic losses in the long run.

The specific challenges due to climate change faced by several sectors, including human health, are analysed in detail in Bulgaria’s sector assessment reports that were developed in 2017.

Human health sector representatives take part in a number of activities at the local, national, and international level, relevant to climate change adaptation. This includes participation in the process of policy making, educational activity, research activity, information provision, and public communication.

Efforts to integrate climate change adaptation into human health sectoral policies, plans and programs include: monitoring and collecting data; developing warning systems about dangerous for health climate change phenomena; carrying out public education and awareness outreach; working in partnership and cooperation: intra- and intersectoral (local, national, and international); and carrying out research/raising knowledge-base. For the urban environment, adaptation options identify priority scientific topics linked with several aspects including human health.

An example of the implementation of measures in the human health sector include, for the period 2021-2022, the Ministry of Health providing BGN 1,496,000 for the capital expenditure budget for medical institutions and for the improvement of the health infrastructures. Human health is also addressed in the project "We are changing with the climate" (beneficiary "Tsvetan Radoslavov" Secondary School worth BGN 385,465.09), where the main goal is to organize a large-scale campaign to increase the awareness and competences of the Bulgarian public regarding the impact of climate change on human health, the environment and the social and economic life of modern society, as well as the specific climate change mitigation, adaptation and resilience measures to be taken.

For healthcare, the rules and conditions for the use of medical assistance for the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of diseases, including those arising as a result of the adverse impact of climatic factors, are confirmed and periodically updated by the regulations.

Information from EEA report. Climate change and health: the national policy overview in Europe (2022)

National policies on climate change adaptation and national health strategies were analysed to identify the coverage of climate-related impacts on health (physical, mental, and social) and the types of interventions addressing them. The report provides a European overview, while the geographical coverage of various aspects of national policies across Europe can be visualized using the map viewer. The results for Bulgaria are summarised here.

Policy documents reviewed:

Bulgaria National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy and Action Plan

National Health Strategy (2014–2020) 

Aspects covered in the reviewed policy document:

Resources in the Observatory catalogue on Bulgaria