News

As part of the Government of Serbia’s commitment to address the significant health inequities between Roma and majority populations, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry for Human and Minority Rights, Public Administration and Local Self-government held a Roma health forum in Belgrade on 28–29 February 2012, and adopted a national declaration on Roma health.

In Europe, there is an evidence of significant health inequities between Roma and majority populations. These inequities are largely socially determined, being driven by multifaceted social exclusion processes. Efforts to improve public health governance and strengthen health systems must integrate measures to protect the right to health of disadvantaged populations, including Roma who experience transgenerational poverty and social exclusion. Such measures include, but are not limited to: the health sector’s cooperation with other sectors to address underlying determinants of health; ensuring the availability, accessibility, acceptability, and quality of health services (including health promotion and prevention services) for all persons while being sensitive to Roma-specific issues; and engagement of representatives from communities experiencing poverty and social exclusion in designing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating policies and interventions.

The Government of Serbia and its Ministry of Health have recently recognized access to health services for vulnerable people as a priority. This commitment has been demonstrated through the proclamation of healthcare as a human right in the Serbian Constitution. The Serbian government showed further support for equal access in 2005 through the adoption of a set of health related laws that mandate health services be physically, economically, and geographically accessible, and that patients have the right to access health services without discrimination. Moreover, in 2010 the Ministry of Health and the National Health Insurance Fund ensured that Roma, including those who lacked citizenship, have the right to access the health system. The Ministry of Health established a system of Health Mediators who are working with the Roma communities and liaise with the health services.

During the opening ceremony at the Belgrade Philharmonic Hall the Minister of health of Serbia Zoran Stankovic red his welcoming address and confirmed Serbia’s commitment to fight discrimination in the access to health care of Roma people. 
In her welcoming speech Mrs. Zsuzsanna Jakab - WHO Regional Director for Europe stated: “We are here, because we care! We are too tired by too long, way too long, exclusion of Roma from health care, education, social inclusion and other determinants of health”.

Mr. Vincent Degert – Head of the European Union Delegation in Serbia, Mr. Andrzej Mirga – OSCE/ ODIHR (Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights) Contact Point for Roma and Sinti, Mr. Vitomir Mihajlovic – President of the National Council of the Roma National Minority in Serbia and Mr. William Infante – UN Resident Coordinator for Serbia also had speeches in the opening of the international conference.

Number of state and government officials, and civil society and international organizations such as UNICEF, World Bank, OSI, from Serbia, Bulgaria, Albania, Moldova, Macedonia, Hungary, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia presented different topics related to access to health care of Roma people in Serbia and beyond, overcoming health system access barriers through improved financial protection and legislation on health insurance in the countries of the Decade of Roma Inclusion and others.

Bulgaria was represented by Momchil Baev from Center Amalipe, Dr. Angel Kunchev – Chief State Health Inspector at the Ministry of health and Dr. Stefan Panayotov – Chair of “The health of Roma” Foundation.

On behalf of Center Amalipe Momchil Baev presented the ongoing program "To Touch the Untouchable"financed by the European Commission, DG Justice, and the program for Community monitoring of the access to health care of vulnerable ethnic minorities, funded by Open Society Institute – New York and implemented by Center Amalipe. The program uses a methodology developed by Prof. Abhijid Das and includes the so-called “community inquiry” as a tool. One of the points that Baev made during his presentation was that until now the “official” Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) of all Roma integration policy (including the one in health field) is carried out within the frames of the so-called “administrative monitoring” that means it is done by the same institutions that should implement the activities. Roma community is engaged in no way in this process. There is clear need of introducing different approach for M&E that allows Roma community to be active part in the process.Another important part of the project was to introduce proper mechanisms at grass-root level for carrying out community based monitoring as well as for strengthening community mobilization and self-organization. This part appeared as important as the inquiry itself since community monitoring could not be reduced to sociological survey but it is a mean for community to take ownership on the process.

“Scaling up action for Roma health in Serbia and beyond” is taking place a month after a conference on Roma health convened through the Presidency of the Decade of Roma Inclusion, now held by the Government of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the Belgrade forum furthered the call for increased action on Roma health in both Serbia and the other countries participating in the Decade of Roma Inclusion.

The Government of Serbia adopted a national declaration on Roma health, and participants in the forum expressed commitment to key actions, including:

- introducing whole-of-government interventions on Roma health that tackle the social determinants of health;

- training health professionals on issues related to cultural competence, equity and non-discrimination, to improve the quality of services provided for the Roma population and other ethnic minority groups; and

- identifying and removing barriers to health-system access experienced by some Roma, including those related to lack of financial protection and of documentation.

In addition, participants highlighted the opportunities for increased exchange between countries of know-how and promising practices on Roma health. They noted the Decade of Roma Inclusion, as well as the European Union’s Integrated European Platform for Roma Inclusion and the South-eastern Europe Health Network supported by WHO/Europe, as important means for increasing such cooperation among countries.