The Roma are widely acknowledged to be a population group particularly vulnerable to deep and persistent poverty and ill health. There are estimated to be 12–15 million Roma in the world, with the majority living in the WHO/European Region.
The Ministry of Health of Serbia and WHO/Europe are committed to improving the health of the most vulnerable and marginalized people. A number of initiatives to improve Roma socioeconomic status and minimize health risks are being taken by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Serbia and international and nongovernmental actors, including the WHO Country Office, through programmes and actions of WHO/Europe.The Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005–2015 was launched to assemble stakeholders working to address Roma inequities and to assist governments in developing national action plans in four sectors – education, employment, health and housing. This half-way stage of implementation of the Decade is a good time to assess how far this work has progressed, what lessons have been learned and in what direction future strategies should move, especially in the health arena and social determinants for health.
In this context, the First Roma Health Forum convened in Belgrade in December 2009 to mobilize stakeholders to cooperate and invest in Roma health and provide a platform for future meetings and discussion. A draft statement was prepared and is expected to be finalized before the Second Roma Health Forum meeting in 2010