Zoltán Kovács, Minister of State for Social Inclusion at the Ministry of Human Resources attended a roundtable discussion held on the occasion of Science Day. At the conference held at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, experts shared their views on the Hungarian Roma population’s state of health and the care system available to them with a view to closing the gap between science and policy.

Closing the gap between science and policy or the realm of politics is one of the most important tasks in the context of the efforts made for the integration of the Roma population; this was the conclusion of the conference held on Tuesday at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. At the thematic meeting of „Science speaks to policy”, experts analysing the surveys of recent months and Minister of State Zoltán Kovács, who was invited to join the discussion, agreed that programmes were required that spanned political cycles as well as social generations.

Trust may only be built amongst the disadvantaged communities targeted by the various integration initiatives, including the Roma, if the continuity of the programmes and policy itself is guaranteed and the problems are duly identified. The emphatic role of public education, the active involvement of the individuals and communities concerned and the bilateral nature of the efforts made are also essential for success, as are regulated monitoring interventions. In the context of the latter, the Minister of State reiterated that, in spite of the initial stage of the system, the European Commission has already recognised the achievements of the Hungarian Government.
Based on the complex theory of inclusion, the success of initiatives may depend on the state of health of those involved in the programmes. As the solutions spanning generations first target the youngest ones, these programmes, too, should be extended from 2 to 3 years to minimum 4 to 5 years. Early childhood programmes can only operate with satisfactory efficiency if parents regularly visit them together with their little ones. Accordingly, the primary purpose of the Child Chance programmes, regarded as the flagship of the National Social Inclusion Strategy, too, is the reinforcement of prevention in health care.

Programmes designed to encourage and support the improvement of equal access to health care services may help to reduce the number of areas that are permanently without medical care and to reinforce infant and paediatric care and health visitor services in particular in the disadvantaged micro-regions largely inhabited by Roma. The communities living in these localities may be reached most effectively if the messages are communicated by trustworthy individuals who actually live in the given localities and are thoroughly acquainted with the locals. Vocational training courses in the field of health care promoting improved access to the labour market such as the training of Roma physicians or Roma health guard assistants and Roma health officers may effectively contribute to these efforts.

(State Secretariat for Social Inclusion)