Mannfalk at 30 BSPC

30TH BSPC: FOURTH SESSIONAdresses and reportsSpeaker: Ms Anna Mannfalk, responsible for cooperation public sector – CivilSociety/NGOs, Vice Chair of Region Skåne Health Care CommitteeMr Chairman,My name is Anna Mannfalk and I hold the position of deputy Governor in Region Skåne(Scania), the most southern region of 21 in Sweden. My main focus is Health-Careissues and in the work with enhancing the health of our population, close cooperationwith other organizations is vital and necessary. This include municipalities, who inSweden have responsibility for the education up to but not including university, the careof the elderly and the integration of immigrants after an introductory period of 24months. Equally important is cooperation with the civil society organizations as MrAnders Bergström noted.Region Scania is at the forefront with a structured mutual agreement to ensure thatlocal nonprofit organizations have the opportunity establish and develop theiroperations. Together we strive for the goals of our Regional Development Strategy. Ihave the honor to be the Chairperson of the steering committee of the agreement-which also involves the regional representatives of the Swedish Government. I cherishthis mission and thank you for the possibility to address you all today and appreciatethat our work is mentioned in your final report.The important and outstanding work of the NGO ́s in our region could be classified inthree categories;1. The forming of OpinionsThe art of communication and reaching isolated communities (sometimes in thecenter of a big city) with information is often done better by NGOs than officialauthorities. Many groups have experience of hostile and corrupt authorities andthe lack of trust reflect how the information is received. The local football club,church, the Red Cross, LGBT -organizations or shelters for homeless havegained that trust and can therefore communicate more easily. One programmeis NAD, which emphasizes cooperation with civil society organizations in orderto facilitate social networking and language training, among other things.Lately we have been able to reach communities both with information of theCovid19 – disease and promote vaccination through these channels.2. Category two -Providing servicesA number of organizations provide regular health care services. The CityMission of Malmö employ a trained nurse who can offer examinations and whenneeded follow the person to further medical care. Others offer support topersons with mental issues and facilitate contacts with psychiatric care and thesocial authorities. These services are mostly financed through IOP (non-profitpublic partnership) which gives both parties a longer planning horizon thanyearly grants. We also explore the opportunity to use the possibility for targetingNGOs in the EU rules for public procurement. During the Covid19- pandemicvaccination of homeless people and migrants without proper papers have beenperformed by NGOs.3. Category three InnovationThe non-profit organizations are more innovative and quicker to action thanlarge organizations like Region Skåne. This was evident in 2015 when Ngo ́smet immigrants at train stations and opened shelters as tens of thousands ofmigrants daily crossed the borders to Sweden in Skåne.When the disease of Covid19 struck Europe and the rest of the world, thesituation was quite different. The tools that were normally used for crisis –human warmth, food and shelter were ruled out due to fear of spreading thevirus. A majority of the volunteers were themselves at an age where they shouldisolate themselves and stay safe at home. On top of that the severalgovernments shut the borders trapping people. Being a part of a common job-market with Copenhagen this had consequences. During the spring of 2020 thenon-profit organizations had to find new ways to be able to continue theiractivities. Region Skåne inquired early on what needs had to be met in order tostart up digital tools for social, physical or cultural activities and have been ableto help finance some. Now we need to find ways to break the isolation.What are our other challenges for the future? Skåne has a relatively youngpopulation but a lower employment rate than other urban regions in Sweden. Thisleads to segregation and polarization. We are involved in projects aiming to test newmodels for cooperation enabling NGOs to take part in the planning and implementationof operations leading to social sustainability. By joint efforts we can attract moreknowledge and larger funding and hopefully reach better results.Thank you for listening.