IV European Meeting “Mediation in Romany Health”

On the 6th, 7th and 8th of June, the University Residence Flora Tristan of the Pablo de Olavide University hosted the IV European Meeting of “Mediation in Romany Health”, organized by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and CESPYD, in collaboration with the University Pablo de Olavide and the Office of the Commissioner of the South Polygon.

This meeting is part of the project “Equi-Health: Fostering the provision of health care for migrants, the Roma group and other vulnerable groups” (http://equi-health.eea.iom.int/), coordinated by IOM and funded by the DG for Health and Food Safety of the European Commission.

The objective has been to share experiences, put good practices in value and find common working spaces. The progress being made in Europe in ensuring access and ownership of the Roma population to health services was addressed.

The Roma population is the largest ethnic minority in Europe, estimated to be 12 million people and is the most impoverished and discriminated against. The European Union is determined to overcome the unacceptable gap that separates its health from the rest of the population, as reflected by the fact that its life expectancy is 15 years lower.

Spain has made important efforts in overcoming these inequities. A good example is the ongoing effort being carried out by the Andalusian Health Service, the citizen organizations and the Office of the Commissioner in the South Polygon. This meeting has given IOM recognition of these achievements and the desire to make known the local good practices of the South Polygon, as well as to deepen and advance the complete eradication of health inequalities suffered by the European Roma population.

You can see some photos of the meeting on our Facebook page.