In Odesa, the Ukrainian Red Cross has launched a pilot project titled “Strengthening Community Health and Disease Prevention”

The project will be implemented on a voluntary basis by current social workers and social assistants involved in the Mental Health Support, Home-Based Care, and Mobile Health Units programmes, with regional coordinators also present at the opening. A total of 23 Ukrainian Red Cross employees have supported the initiative by volunteering in addition to their primary duties.

The project activities will cover the following communities in the Odesa region: Izmail, Chornomorsk, Suvorove, Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi, and the Prymorskyi, Podilskyi, Khadzhybeiskyi, Rozdilnianskyi, and Kyivskyi districts. Volunteers will conduct awareness-raising and practical sessions, motivational interviews, and physical activities aimed at promoting health and preventing disease.

As part of the event, Tetiana Kiriienko, Senior Specialist in the Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Unit of the Ukrainian Red Cross, led an introductory session on common diseases for the volunteers. During the practical sessions, the volunteers had the opportunity to apply their knowledge in areas such as blood pressure measurement, healthy eating, physical activity, and the development of good habits. We hope this knowledge and these skills will enable them to carry out high-quality, impactful activities for the service recipients.