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Preventing disease among the Roma
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Tuberculosis has killed more people than any other disease in history mainly because it spreads easily: A patient can infect over 15 others merely by coughing. In Romania, a country with ten times more new TB infections than the European Union average, over 27,000 members of the Roma community have been informed on ways to prevent TB, recognize its symptoms, and know where to receive free treatment. This is one of the efforts to control the spread of TB that are funded by the Global Fund in support of the Government of Romania.
"In Romania there are a lot of Roma people who don't have equal access to the public health care services...the health mediator tells them the symptoms and where to get free TB treatment... "
The Roma are an ethnic group living around the world, but most significantly in central and Eastern Europe. They often live in poor conditions with little access to health services. “We have trained women in many communities to act as health mediators,” says Daniel Radulescu, a Coordinator of the programme at RomaniCriss, the NGO implementing the project. Many of them travel to countries such as Italy, Spain and Germany for work and for better access to public services. “Now 90% of that population knows about TB, and also know that they can get free treatment.” Why is the Roma community in greater danger of TB infection? What is being done to keep its members safe? Daniel answers these and other questions.
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