Primary schools in Kutná Hora regon were part of the pilot project in the past two years. It brings a new perspective on the problematic behavior of children, on its causes and on how to deal with it successfully. It emphasizes the mental health of children and brings a team of experts to schools.

Organization of seminars for the professional public, creation of joint analysis, improvement of mutual understanding, and often also agreements on ongoing cooperation and joint projects. These are the results of the so-called bilateral initiatives of the Health Programme supported by the EEA and Norway Grants. Their participants focused on sharing experiences, for example in the field of eating disorders, the involvement of peer consultants in care in acute psychiatric wards, or the availability of follow-up care for people with aphasia.

Antibiotics prescribed for the treatment of viral diseases, e. g. flu, excessive use of broad-spectrum antibiotics or insistence from the patient’s side to prescribe these drugs. This all leads to so-called antibiotic resistance, which causes over thirty thousand deaths in Europe each year, to grow. The project of the National Institute of Public Health supported by EEA and Norway Grants focused on patients’ and doctors’ education should help prevent the issue in the Czech Republic

The effects of mental illness on man’s life and his surroundings are shown in comics, which were prepared by the representatives of FOKUS České Budějovice in partnership with FOKUS Tábor in previous period of EEA and Norway Grants. To increase their knowledge of the topic, they elaborated real stories of their clients.

Injuries are still one of the most common causes of children’s morbidity and death. That is why the prevention of injuries together with prevention of long-term impact of chronic diseases in children was a priority of funding from Norway grants in the last few years. Except big investment projects, the support was given to awareness raising activities run by NGOs.

Where to get funding for reconstruction of the area? This issue was discussed by the management of psychiatric hospital in Červený Dvůr few years ago. The solution was found in Norway Grants. 

Jiná Káva in Beroun and Jedna Bedna in Prague are examples of places, which serve as training space for people returning to the labour market after going through mental health problems. On the other hand, customers visit them for a good coffee and homemade cakes or for handcrafted decorations made of glass and textile. People with mental health problems meet there naturally with others attracted by food or product offer and atmosphere. Implementation of these projects was supported by Norway grants.

Seminars for students and public, e-mail or personal counselling. These are some of the ways used by professionals to fight the stigma of mental disorders. Moreover, they help individuals with meant health problems seeking for help. Dozens of organizations like Lomikámen in Beroun and BONA in Prague are involved in these activities helping people with mental health disorders which were also funded from Norway grants during last three years.

Dozens of projects focused on an improvement of care for mentally ill patients were realized by NGOs and medical institutions throughout the Czech Republic during the last three years. These projects supported by Norway grants enabled a lot of meaningful activities to be carried out in the field of mental health such as the development of multidisciplinary teams taking care of mentally ill patients or informational campaigns raising awareness about mental health issues. There was also established cooperation among the hospital services and follow-up care provided mostly by NGOs such as FOKUS Opava. Norway grants thus prepared the ground for the psychiatric care reform, which followed and is currently being implemented.