Mobile medical units will carry out 1,435 check-ups and tests in 17 regions of Bulgaria, the Ministry of Health said.
Some 500 of the check-ups are for children. Besides Burgas, they will be held in Kyustendil, Silistra and Sliven.
Women in Pazardzhik, Sliven, Sofia region and Targovishte can have an obstetric and gynaecological exam. The plan includes 360 of these, with cytology and microbiology tests. Doctors will prescribe treatment if needed.
Mobile general practice units will examine adults and vaccinate children up to 18 in Varna, Pleven, Vidin and Vratsa. A mobile X-ray unit will carry out 170 chest screenings in Sliven and Blagoevgrad. Shumen, Stara Zagora and Vratsa are due to get 195 ultrasound exams.
People in Stara Zagora, Dobrich and Vidin can also have tests. There, 210 checks are planned, including a full blood count, blood sugar and cholesterol.
The ministry provides the units and pays for the check-ups. Health minister Katya Ivkova hands them over for free use by order. On the ground, regional health inspectorates (RZI) organise the check-ups together with local medical facilities.
Health mediators tell people in local communities about the check-ups and direct them to the teams. The programme is for vulnerable communities, including Roma and families in difficult social circumstances. Its main priorities are the health of mothers and children, early detection of disease and vaccination.
The aim is to make it easier for people in places that preventive care hardly reaches to get checked on time. The ministry says help should go to people, so they do not put off check-ups because of distance, transport or social barriers.
In October, the St Anastasia Children's Hospital in Burgas held free check-ups for children up to 18. More than 250 children signed up for the check-ups, which specialists from Sofia carried out together with Burgas doctors.
The check-ups are part of the health tasks in the National Action Plan 2024-2027 under the National Strategy for Roma Equality, Inclusion and Participation (2021-2030).