Spread across Europe are a group of between 10 and 12 million people with a strong cultural identity and heritage, but no homeland and often no actual homes.

The Roma – occasionally referred to as gypsies - are one of the largest ethnic minority groups in Europe, with over half of the population living in primitive settlements that can lack clean drinking water and basic sanitation. Living in such conditions, their ability to access healthcare, medicine and education is severely restricted.

Yet, health awareness is quite low in Roma communities, and the community have higher than average rates of infectious diseases and infant mortality.

What are we doing to help?

As part of our commitment to expand access to healthcare for people in need, we kicked off a three-year programme starting in 2011, to try to address some of these gaps. In Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia we are working with local non-governmental organisations to provide health education and much needed medicines to Roma people living in isolated communities.

The approach we take is varied: it can range from the provision of basic medicines and vaccines, to the funding or training of healthcare workers. Ultimately the plan is based on what our partners tell us will work best for the local communities.

For example, in Romania we are working with the Ovidiu Rom Association (ORA) through the Every Child in Kindergarten programme to improve child education, as this was an important component for them.

“The healthcare status of the children is as important as their education, which is why, together with GSK, we decided to integrate a healthcare component that to our project,” said Maria Gheorghiu, co-founder of the ORA.

With the funding on offer, ORA has been able to ensure local communities are able to run medical check-ups and mandatory vaccinations, and to provide health mediators, health education and family counselling.

Bulgaria and Hungary

The approach will be different in other countries. In Bulgaria we are supporting the National Network of Health Mediators, to address the poor health conditions found in Roma settlements across Europe. Meanwhile in Hungary we are supporting Partners Hungary to provide preventative healthcare such as vaccinations and regular checkups, and increase availability of healthcare services to eliminate and reduce the spread of infectious diseases. Meanwhile in Slovakia we are working with the Association for Culture, Education and Communication to send healthcare assistants to local areas which lack basic access to health and social services.

In summarising our overall approach, Paul van Hoof, our Director of European Government Affairs explains: ‘Children deserve the best start in life they can get, and better health and education can help. Roma health mediators have proven success in raising health status of these vulnerable communities. By working together, I have confidence that this three year project will make a big difference for a significant number of Roma children”.