The Minister for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drugs Strategy Colm Burke TD has announced the development of a Roma Health Action Plan.
The initiative is among seven health actions contained in the new National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy 2024-2028, launched this week by Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth Roderic O’Gorman.
The initiatives aim to address the social determinants of Traveller and Roma health through tailored and affirmative measures to promote health and reduce inequalities. They also complement work already underway on the implementation of the Traveller Health Action Plan.
Health initiatives under the strategy include the development of a Roma Health Action Plan, delivery of the National Traveller Mental Health Implementation Plan and a funding call in conjunction with the Slaintecare Healthy Communities Programme to allocate €710,000 to address the social determinants of health for Travellers. Current initiatives will be reviewed and evaluated in order to inform the development of future projects to support Traveller and Roma communities.
Minister Burke, said, “Through my work as a public representative I have become very familiar with the unique challenges faced by Traveller and Roma communities that make it difficult to access healthcare. We must listen and respond to these communities by developing targeted, tailored healthcare supports that appropriately address their needs, removing barriers to healthcare and supporting improved physical and mental health and wellbeing.
“Under the new National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy, we will develop a Roma Health Action Plan that will specifically address needs in relation to health literacy, mental health, medical card and pregnancy supports.
“The delivery of the National Traveller Mental Health Implementation Plan is another crucial commitment in this strategy, bolstered by the announcement of additional funding of approximately €470,000 to support Traveller mental health by my colleague Minister Mary Butler T.D. in 2024.
“We will also work to reach these communities through the wonderful infrastructure of the Slaintecare Healthy Communities programme. Through this network, we will be allocating €710,000 in funding to projects that will effectively address the social determinants of health for these groups.”
