This report which overviews the conditions of housing and health of Roma in Macedonia is part of the Project
Citizens-Consultative-Centers, aimed at improvement of the situation in the Roma communities from several
aspects of living, especially in the direction of diminishing and elimination of the discrimination stemming
from prejudices and negative stereotypisation; encouragement and strengthening of the cooperation with
local and national administration, creation of conditions for improved education and organized pro-active
approach of the Roma people in their community, in order to establish itself as partner with equal voice to
that of the other ethnic communities.
In the preparation of this report, standard research methods were used: literature review in the mentioned
field, interviews with stakeholders and experts in the respective areas, subject to review in this report, as
well as representation of positive examples from other countries with similar environments and national
contexts.
Housing represents a basic human need and one of the basic human rights; the right to appropriate housing is
no exception for the Roma population - but it is an inevitable fact that the overall status and treatment that
this community had and still has within a particular national context, has also reflected on the
implementation of the right of decent home for these citizens.
Roma families very often live in very poorly built sub-standard homes, in which they don’t have appropriate
water supply or sewerage connection; the houses of Roma are small, planned for execution and providing for
the basic living needs, with living space of less than 5 square meters per family member in more than 50% of
this population group. As much as 77% of the families have their sanitary facility (or outdoor toilet) in the
yard, and 58% use water from a tap installed outside of the house; further, almost 10% of the Roma
population has no access to water for drinking and other daily hygiene needs, and it is estimated that about
50% of these families don’t have appropriate solution for sewerage and discharge of communal waters from
their homes.
Health a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or
infirmity. Thanks to this definition, the health is considered as one of the key factors that influence the
economic status and performance of the society, as a crucial ingredient in the productivity of the population.
Although officially not completely confirmed, it is an unbeatable fact that the health status of the Roma
population is by far worse in comparison with the general population; besides the unfavourable situation in
which the health system in Macedonia is, the health status of the Roma is aslo influenced by the inappropriate
living conditions, very poor hygiene in the Roma settlements, and lack of access to health services as a result
of lack of heatlh insurance. The national statistics shows higher incidence of communicable diseases in Roma,
as well as almost endemic occurence of certain diseases, such as tuberculosis; all other health indicators have
poorer values than the general public, without much possibility for drastic change in the near future.