Survey Finds Large Number of Uninsured Roma in Macedonia

01 February 2006

On June 29, 2005, the online news source OneWorld.Net published the results of a nationwide survey undertaken by the non-governmental organizations "Luludi" Roma Association of Women and Youth and "For a Happy Childhood" on access to health insurance and health care for Macedonia's Romani population. From a sample of 1,000 Romani families, Luludi and For a Happy Childhood found that 39.42 percent of the families surveyed did not have health insurance. Amongst the reasons cited for not having health insurance were the lack of proper paperwork (34.15%), unregulated citizenship status (12.2%), incomplete primary education (19.51%), unemployment (12.2%) and refugee status (7.31%). A further 14.63% of those polled responded that they did not have health insurance because they did not understand the steps necessary to obtain the right.

(OneWorld.Net)