Roma Community Health situation - Sharing best practices

Save the Children and Civil Society Organizations call for improvements in the health situation for Roma Communities especially children. A Working Group, of public and non public stakeholders, will work together to promote healthy and protective environment for all Roma communities. 

Representatives from public and civil society organisations gathered to discuss and share best practices related to the health situation of Roma Communities, in a forum organized by Save the Children, ADRA, and the National Center for Community Services on February 6, 2013.

The forum was the first opportunity to share the learning and best practices from pilot initiatives and aimed to lobby for further actions which can bring real changes and improve the health situation of Roma Community especially children.

Speakers from International and local NGOs, People’s Advocate, Regional Public Health Agency, Roma Technical Secretariat at the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities and Roma Community members highlighted interventions, which have contributed to create a better healthy and protective environment for children and their families. However the situation of the Roma community remains very difficult in critical areas such as housing, education, health and employment. Assessments and analyzes show that the coordination and capacity of central and local institutions is insufficient to really tackle the extent and depth of the problems affecting the Roma community.

Findings of a Save the Children survey report on the situation of the Roma/Egyptian community in Tirana during 2011 showed that the Roma/Egyptian population face considerable difficulties in accessing health. This is mainly due to the lack of civil registration, limited knowledge on disease prevention and about their health service rights. The majority of Roma families lack the health books which prevent their children from accessing health services. The health service provision is also very limited in terms of dental, ophthalmologic and other specialized health services.

An assessment report, on the gaps of the National Strategy for Improving the Living Conditions of the Roma Community and other related strategic documents, was conducted by Save the Children in cooperation with the Roma Technical Secretariat.  It shows the absence of a multidisciplinary approach to improve the health situation for the Roma community; the lack of transparency on budget allocations; objective indicators relate only to process rather than results; and the lack of services for early childhood development. The assessment calls for cooperative efforts from various institutions and stakeholders committed to improving the situation of Roma community, recommending further action to mitigate the challenges and find concrete solutions for the community, as well as using the findings to feed into other new strategic documents.

The forum concluded by setting up a working group, from public and non public actors and stakeholders, aiming to contribute to the ultimate elimination of the existing barriers to healthcare and promotion of significant health improvements for the Roma community.

08/02/2013