Health News

Dear friends,

This week’s update looks at the persistent health gap between Roma communities and majority populations in Central and Eastern Europe. Poverty, social exclusion, and discrimination are often barriers to obtaining adequate health care. A new report by the Open Society Foundations looks at the role of health mediators in bridging this gap.

Thank you for reading, and please join us on Facebook and Twitter.

Paul Silva
psilva@sorosny.org
Follow me on Twitter: @PauloNYC

Improving Health Care for Europe's Roma

Roma health mediators are making great strides in improving health within Romani settlements. Mediators help increase vaccination rates, provide health education to children and adults, help clients obtain identification and insurance documents, and improve relations between health care workers and Roma. Yet mediator programs remain underfunded and woefully understaffed. Some countries employ only one mediator for every 10,000 Roma. A new report by the Open Society Public Health Program offers recommendations for strengthening mediator programs in six countries. Read the report.

The European Union and Roma Integration

Hate crimes across Europe serve as a grim reminder that "anti-Gypsyism" is deeply ingrained in many countries. Roma integration will not happen without resolute and unequivocal action by governments to combat racism and discrimination. The EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies offers an opportunity for Roma groups and government officials to work together to end the exclusion of Roma. Find out more.

We're Hiring

• Communications Officer—International Harm Reduction Development Program (Deadline: November 18, 2011)

What We're Reading

• Occupy Wall Street and the Pope Agree: It’s Time to Tax Speculators
  The Nation
• Innovative Financing Mechanisms for Global Health
  Kaiser Family Foundation
• Global Health Cuts in Proposed Debt Deal Would Have Negligible Budget Impact but Cost Thousands of Lives
  amfAR
• The Fight to Advertise Health Care for Sex Workers
  Jezebel
• Carving Our Own Path: The Pursuit of LGBT Rights in the Middle East
  Global Forum on MSM & HIV

From Our Twitter Feeds

• Support for financial transaction taxes for development is growing! 1 week until the G20. Will they do the right thing? http://showdowninamerica.org/robin-hood-tax via @skowalski
• UN Special Rapporteur on #torture calls for the prohibition of solitary confinement http://bit.ly/nub5hD #abuse #mentalhealth #disabilities via @OSMHI
• Radical Disregard for Life: The Criminalization of Abortion and the Death of a Young Girl in Kenya | RH Reality Check http://t.co/eDFNc8Q3 via @CareNotTorture
• 3 Innovative Ways Non-Profits Are Leveraging Blogs http://mashable.com/2011/10/24/non-profits-using-blogs/ via @PauloNYC

Follow all health-related tweets from the Open Society Foundations: @OpenSociety/health-team.