site.btaPresident: Bulgaria Needs Investment and Better Governance in Healthcare

Bulgaria needs investment and better governance across all areas of healthcare to achieve top-level results, scientific breakthroughs and reliable access to medical services nationwide, President Iliana Iotova said at a ceremony marking the Day of Research and Teaching Activity at the Medical University in Sofia.

Addressing the event, held at the Sofia Opera and Ballet on International Health Day, Iotova said the expertise of medical professionals is needed more than ever, not only in major hospitals but also in small towns and villages where access to care remains limited.

She criticized the lack of clear vision in current healthcare debates during the election campaign, describing the rhetoric as "offensive" due to the absence of concrete plans and ambition.

Iotova warned that for many Bulgarians the lack of access to medical care is already a harsh reality, pointing to entire settlements without adequate services and growing imbalances caused by the concentration of healthcare resources.

"The world is changing, and we feel it with every cell of our body," she said, adding that humanity and compassion are increasingly overshadowed by short-sightedness and self-interest. According to her, progress is too often measured by technological power rather than quality of life and wellbeing.

She stressed that the greatest strength of society remains solidarity and mutual support.

Addressing university lecturers, Iotova said that the students they train will become "the knights of hope and humanity" - the future Bulgarian doctors, emphasizing that medicine is among the most humane professions.

She congratulated the Medical University in Sofia, describing it as one of the most authoritative higher education institutions in Bulgaria.