Deputy Health Minister Valery Tsekov is in Germany to sign a three-year co-operation programme in the healthcare sphere.

The two countries will work on improving the healthcare system structure, Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) reported. The agreement is part of the reforms the Health Ministry is taking to modernise healthcare in the country and meet international standards.

The agreement also defines HIV, drug addiction and tuberculosis prevention measures. Bulgaria and Germany will also develop the psychiatry and transplantation branches, BNR said.

Health Minister Radoslav Gaidarski said that Bulgarian healthcare was in urgent need of reforms. BGNES news agency quoted Gaidarski as saying that the problems were due mainly to errors in the health insurance system accumulated through the years.
Some of the problems included the poor condition of the medical equipment, Gaidarski said. Most of it is 10 to 20 years old. The ministry is currently inspecting the technical condition of all equipment in the country's major hospitals. It has provided 30 million leva for new equipment.
Other ministry projects include buying 150 new ambulances and sanitary vehicles.