Monday, February 6, 2006
Progress Update: Access to Health Services for Roma Community
Bucharest, Romania – On December 12-13, 2005, Doctors of the World - USA (DOW) participated in a Roma health conference hosted by the Open Society Institute and the National Agency for Roma in Bucharest, Romania. The conference, "Past and future projects and policies: how to impact Roma health most effectively?" was held to analyze the accomplishments and challenges of Roma health programs that are currently active in South and Central Eastern Europe and to develop action plans for effective Roma health initiatives in the future.
DOW staff from the Romania field office and from headquarters participated in the conference to discuss DOW's role in working with mediators to improve Roma communities' access to health services and patient-provider communication. DOW staff member Georgel Radulescu presented on our experience with training Roma community members to become Peer Health Educators. The Peer Health Educators conduct community health education sessions on important health issues and work to empower patients to take a greater role in communicating with health professionals in case of an illness.
DOW has a proven track record in working closely with Roma communities in Kosovo and Romania to achieve greater access to health services and to determine barriers to access that can be resolved with planned and focused advocacy. Through our programs, Peer Health Educators are trained to raise awareness of tuberculosis and other deadly diseases in their communities, help Roma families gain access to health and social services, and ultimately allow Roma communities to become advocates for their basic human rights. In 2006, DOW will be implementing a project to improve Roma health advocacy capacity and leadership skills in Romania and Bulgaria.