New Budget Foresees More Cares about Children
Vika, a second grade pupil at Secondary School No. 22 in Pavlohrad, Ukraine has been fascinated by the accomplishments of the Olympic champion swimmer Yana Klochkova since she was very small and is determined to exceed the accomplishments of her famous heroine. Unfortunately, due to an acute respiratory viral infection and bronchitis, Vika cannot be properly trained nor regularly visit a swimming pool.
Lung disease among children in the mining town of Pavlohrad has been a problem since Soviet times. Local authorities have traditionally addressed this problem by allocating funds to the health care and education sectors, although with little result.
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Vika (left) enjoys oxygen foam treatment in the health class
Photo Credit: Vitaliy Bondarenko |
Help may finally be on the way from an unlikely source. USAID’s Municipal Budget Reform in Ukraine Project supports the implementation of a new budget process for local governments, called the Program Performance Budgeting (PPB) method, which is an alternative to the traditional line item method of budget formulation and provides for the allocation of funds not for organizations or agencies but directly for programs. This has allowed the local administration in Pavlohrad to develop a comprehensive program entitled “Health Improvement of Children in Schools” and to consolidate the efforts of teachers and doctors in finding effective solutions to the problem of lung disease in children.
Thanks to this initiative, in October 2006, a “health class” was funded at Secondary School No. 22 where 19 children from the town’s various schools stay for one month. The health improvement course includes three vitamin-enriched meals a day, exercise therapy, physiotherapeutic procedures, salt-mine therapy, massages, and oxygen foam treatments.
In addition, four similar classes have been organized for TB-infected children at preschools. Participating children receive preventative treatments to avoid active TB infection and are provided with the necessary vitamins, immune modulators, and special medicinal formulas.
Future plans include the September 2007 opening of an additional health class to serve 20 more children. Experts believe that by 2012, the program will help decrease the rate of lung disease in Pavlohrad by 12.5 percent.
Today young Vika is successfully learning how to improve her health. Later this year, she will be joining the Olympic Hopes team, where she will take her first strides towards competing in serious sports competitions.
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