Drug consumption in Roma communities Dr. rms Andor Deputy Head of Department Department of Equal Opp

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Drug consumption in Roma communities Dr.
Ürmös AndorDeputy Head of DepartmentDepartment
of Equal OpportunitiesNovember, 28 2003.
Ministry of Health, Social and Family
Affairs Hungary
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Inequal access to healthcare facilities

• Inequal geographical location, segregation
• Low income
• Low educational level
• Discrimination, negative stereotypes

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Demography
Demography of population by age
85 and more
80-84
75-79
70-74
65-69
60-64
55-59
50-54
45-49
40-44
35-39
30-34
25-29
20-24
15-19
10-14
5-9
0-4
5
10
All population
Roma
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Morbidity
Proportion of some diseases (19 - 34 years old
population)
Ischaemic
Heart disease (x 12,5)
Iron-deficiency Anaemia (x10,8)
Tuberculosis
(x 9,9)
Gastric, small intestine ulcer
(x 6,6)
Asthma (x 5,9)
Transitoric blood-flow disturbance
of brain (x 5,4)
(x 3,9)
Cancer
Chronic respiratory diseases
(x 3,8)
Thyroid gland diseases
(x 3,6)

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Roma
All polulation
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Education
Educational level 19-34 y Roma
segregatedt
No segragated
total
0
20
40
60
80
100
Employment
Less than 8 grade
8 garde
Vocational school
Secondary school degree
Employment 19-34 y Roma
women
men
total
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
employed
unemployed
Other inactive
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Infrastructure
Infrastructure in Roma housholds ()
Separate bedroom
Toilet inside of house
Sewage system
Drinking water
0,0
10,0
20,0
30,0
40,0
50,0
60,0
70,0
80,0
90,0
100,0
ssegregated
No segregated
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Background of Roma morbidity/mortality rate
Poverty
Proportion of morbidity rate
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Pecularities of Roma drug abuse in Central and
Eastern EuropeJean-Paul C. Grund, Paul J. Öfner,
Hans T. Verbraeck

• Probably drug abuse among Roma is considerable
  (Budapest, Szeged, Debrecen, stb.)
• Drop out from school system, discriminative
  limits in access to services, unemployment,
  poverty, social exclusion high risk factors
• Heroin abuse is more and more favourable among
  Roma (financial limits)
• Before social changes (80s) alcohol, anxiolytics,
  were characteristic, after social changes (90s)
  western drugs have been detected among Roma and
  non-Roma, as well (at the beginning of 90s)
• Party durgs are popular among Roma youngsters, as
  well (amphetamine, speed, extasy, etc.)
• Difficult to estimate the number of Roma heroin
  users, but they are younger comparing to non-Roma
• General experience that Roma start to smoke, to
  drink alcohol, to take drugs at younger age
  comparing to non-Roma

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Pecularities of Roma drug abuse in Central and
Eastern EuropeJean-Paul C. Grund, Paul J. Öfner,
Hans T. Verbraeck

• The risk of HIV and other blood transmitted
  infections are high among Roma, because
• Number of HIV infected and AIDS patients is low
  in Eastern_European countries, but risk of
  infection of Roma is high because of - shared
  needle, low level of participation on HIV tests,
  and on drug therapy programs
• Drug taking happens in ethnically clean groups
  (vlash Roma groups)
• Drug use could destroy traditional Roma family
  structure, relationships
• Growing number of Roma drug users could be
  dangerous to existing Roma traditional families
• Prevention, therapy of drug consumption could be
  limited because of Roma traditions culturally
  competent programs
• Some of Roma NGOs against Roma drug program
  title drug consumption is based on poverty and
  social exclusion

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Settlements with underpriviledged status of
Hungary 2000.
569 település
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Settlements without bacis social services Hungary
2000.
75 település
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Recommendation for European countries for Roma
strategies European Council      Providing all
condition for access to healthcare (physical,
economical, information, etc.)       Safe,
comfortable, housing     Anti-discrimitaion
law     Independent bodies for ensuring patient
rights     Specific educational program for
medical doctors, nurses about Roma tradition
culturally competent care       Providing basic
documents for access to healthcare       Public
Health Programs should implement special Roma
needs      Permanent data collection system
about Roma health.    Ensuring participation of
Roma women in all development programs