Nesime Salioska ROMA SOS - Prilep Macedonia

 Roma constitute 2.66% of the overall population in Macedonia, according to the 2002 census, or the equivalent of people which represents the third largest group in the country. Estimates of experts suggest minimum and maximum Roma.  Discrepancy in figures derives as a result of civil registration issues as well as the tendency of different Roma communities in the country to identify as something else, most commonly due to prejudices and stereotypes.

 Basic characteristics regarding Roma’s position: → high poverty rate / under poverty line → high unemployment rate / hard physical work and insufficient nutrition → marginalized communities / polluted environment → substandard infrastructure / bad living conditions and small-sized homes → low health status / life expectancy shorter → low level of education / lower chances to be involved in social processes

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Data-collection demonstrate an alarming trend of incremental increase in the proportion of households with children who are poor, rising from 49.3 percent in 2002 to 66.6 percent in  the child mortality rate on national level is 16 on one thousand, for Roma children are almost double.  9% of the children are with insufficient growth,  21% of the children live in the poorest households,  10,7 % of the children age 3 to 5 year are included in the pre- school education,  600 to 1000 are miss abused street children,  33,9% from all the children on the age of years are excluded from the education and employment.

In a survey, it was concluded that: - 90% of the street children are from families that live in improvised carton board neighbourhoods in several locations in Skopje, the capital, but also in Bitola where around 272 families live in this kind of homes with 536 children. They live in exceptionally difficult living conditions under which is endangered their entire psycho- physical development and their health condition is questioned.

 Problem (experience - incomplete inclusion of Roma children with the health protection service  Health exclusion is manifested through: incomplete inclusion of children with immunization (  - incomplete inclusion of children with immunization (available data show that 24.5 per cent of children aged months have missed out on at least one of the eight recommended vaccinations) - child hunger/insufficient nutrition, - regular infectious diseases which results in higher mortality rate among Roma children, especially among children of pre-school age - regular infectious diseases which results in higher mortality rate among Roma children, especially among children of pre-school age.

According all relevant data and undertaken researches by different stakeholders, three main keys can be given: → Still there are relatively insufficient data in regards to the health status of Roma, and especially children, → Existing data refer to significant discrepancy of Roma’s health condition and the majority ethnic groups → Bad health condition of Roma is closely related to the fact that they are represented among the citizens who live under poverty As indicated previously, poverty impacts profoundly on children’s access to preventative health measures and development of their health condition which directly results in a perpetuation of the conditions that feed inter- generational cycles of health deteoriention among Roma communities.